Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba, currently on a visit to India, had a courtesy call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday evening at Hyderabad House, a venue designated for meetings with foreign dignitaries.

The discussion lasted approximately thirty minutes.

The Indian delegation included External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, and other officials.

Representing Nepal were Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bhrigu Dhungana, Acting Ambassador Dr. Surendra Thapa, and Consul Drupada Sapkota.

During the meeting, Foreign Minister Rana presented an invitation letter from Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Oli, inviting Prime Minister Modi to visit Nepal.

This invitation had also been extended through Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri during his visit to Nepal.

This marks the first high-level visit to India by Nepal since the formation of the new government following the agreement between the major parties, Nepali Congress and CPN-UML.

Foreign Minister Rana’s visit to New Delhi began on Sunday and is scheduled to continue for five days.

Rana met her Indian counterpart S Jaishankar earlier in the afternoon.

According to the embassy, they held bilateral talks covering the full range of the India-Nepal bilateral partnership. “The foreign ministers reviewed the progress made in various bilateral initiatives and developmental projects and also discussed opportunities for further collaboration in the existing and new areas of mutually beneficial cooperation,” the statement read.

Stating that India and Nepal are close and friendly neighbours with deep historical, civilisational, cultural, and people to people linkages, the embassy said there has been sustained momentum in recent years in the implementation of India-assisted projects in Nepal.

“The two sides also noted the progress made in the mutually beneficial partnership in the field of power sector cooperation, where Nepal can now export electricity close to 1000 MW, creating additional source of revenue for Nepal and clean energy for India,” the statement read. “In this connection, both foreign ministers noted the unprecedented opportunities in the power sector cooperation that would be available on implementation of the Long Term Power Trade Agreement.”

Describing sports as an emerging area of cooperation between India and Nepal, the two sides also welcomed the recent facilitation of providing training for the Nepali cricket team at the National Cricket Academy, Bengaluru.

The Indian side said the foreign minister’s visit is in keeping with the tradition of regular high-level exchanges between the two countries. “The visit also provided an opportunity to discuss and identify newer areas of cooperation to further advance our bilateral ties,” it added.

The Embassy of Nepal, in a statement, said that the two sides also agreed to continue engagements at various levels including through regular bilateral mechanisms.

After the meeting, Minister Rana expressed her belief that the visit would further strengthen the centuries-old bond between Nepal and India.

“We discussed bilateral interests, various aspects of Nepal-India relations and the exchange of mutual cooperation,” Rana wrote on social media ‘X’.

This is her first foreign visit after she assumed office on July 15.

This marks the first high-level visit from Nepal to India since the formation of the government led by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Rana, on Sunday, embarked on her trip at Jaishankar’s invitation.