Minister for Foreign Affairs Arzu Rana Deuba is leaving for New Delhi today on a five-day India visit at the invitation of her Indian counterpart, S Jaishankar.

The foreign ministry made the official announcement of the visit on Saturday. Rana will visit the southern neighbour from Sunday to Thursday in what will be her first official trip after taking office on July 15.

During the visit, the foreign minister will hold a meeting with Jaishankar and discuss matters of mutual interest for further strengthening Nepal-India relations and promoting cooperation, a press release issued by the ministry read.

“As part of regular exchange of high-level visits between Nepal and India, this visit will further consolidate the age-old, deep and multifaceted bilateral relations,” the ministry said in a statement.

The foreign minister’s visit comes a week after new Indian foreign secretary Vikram Misri concluded a two-day familiarisation visit to Nepal.

Separate requests have been sent for meetings with Indian President Droupadi Murmu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with confirmation still pending, according to foreign ministry officials privy to the visit preparations.

She will also meet senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders.

“We are waiting for confirmation for both the meetings as Prime Minister KP Oli is keen to host Indian Prime Minister Modi in Nepal,” an official said.

“It is the Indian prime minister's turn to visit Nepal, so our focus would be on making that visit happen,” the official said.

Rana was planning to visit Delhi for a routine health checkup, but after India expressed interest in turning it into an official visit, she received an invitation from her Indian counterpart, Jaishankar, sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Rana and Jaishankar are scheduled to meet in New Delhi on Monday to discuss issues from the seventh joint commission meeting in Kathmandu earlier this year, according to the officials.

The Joint Commission meeting reviewed all aspects of bilateral relations and areas of cooperation including connectivity, infrastructure development, economic partnership, trade, transit, investment, power, water resources, culture, tourism, sports, health and education.

Minister Rana's visit is expected to focus on discussing matters of mutual interest rather than signing understandings or agreements, a joint secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Post.

During her meeting with Misri in Kathmandu, Rana had requested additional air routes to Nepal to increase air connectivity between Nepal and India, setting up a sophisticated laboratory at the Nepal-India border to test the quality of the vegetables and fruits imported from India for pesticides, expediting the negotiations for the finalisation of the detailed project report of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project that remains in limbo for years. They also discussed issues such as discharging the water from the Tanakpur canal, river training in the Banganga, Khado, and Rapti rivers with Indian assistance, and the inauguration of the suspension bridge in Darchula linking Nepal and India, according to the foreign ministry statement.