Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri's Nepal Visit Postponed

Kathmandu. The visit of Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, scheduled for Baishakh 28, has been postponed.

Foreign Secretary Misri, who was preparing to come to Nepal to formally invite Prime Minister Balen Shah to India, postponed his visit at the last moment.

However, neither Nepal nor India had officially announced Foreign Secretary Misri's visit; both sides were talking about informal preparations. In March, during a meeting in Mauritius between India's External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Nepal's Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal, Foreign Secretary Misri's visit to Nepal was discussed.

Subsequently, Foreign Secretary Misri himself stated that he was going to visit Nepal, and the former Nepali Ambassador to India, Dr. Shankar Sharma, also discussed Misri's Nepal visit with Indian journalists. Quoting a source from the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Indian media outlets mentioned that Misri would visit Nepal on May 11.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, although not officially informed about the visit, stated in a regular press conference that his visit would happen soon.

However, Misri's visit has been suddenly postponed. The sole reason for the postponement of the visit is believed to be the Nepal-India border dispute. According to sources, it was deemed inappropriate for a secretary-level visit to take place while Nepal and India maintained their stances regarding Lipulekh.

Currently, there are sporadic protests in Nepal regarding the Lipulekh issue. Sources claim that the visit has been postponed fearing that it would send a wrong message. Furthermore, experts in foreign affairs state that it would not be significant whether Prime Minister Balen Shah met him or not in such a situation. Although Prime Minister Balen was not scheduled to meet him, his visit was postponed due to the emergence of the Lipulekh dispute.

India's news agency ANI reported, 'Misri was scheduled to land in Kathmandu on Monday for a two-day visit, but the trip was unexpectedly canceled, a Ministry of External Affairs official confirmed.'

Meanwhile, at a regular press conference held yesterday (Friday) at Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when asked about the postponement of Misri's Nepal visit, spokesperson Lok Bahadur Chhetri stated that there was no connection between the cancellation of the visit and the border dispute. He responded that Nepal and India have a very close relationship and that one issue would not hinder the relationship between the two countries.

Former Ambassador Nilambar Acharya, on the other hand, reacted that the postponement of Misri's visit was not good. He said, 'Our relationships need nurturing. Meetings must continue.'

International affairs expert Tika Dhakal also believes that it is not justifiable for a foreign secretary-level visit to be halted solely due to a mismatch in meeting times or refusal to grant an appointment. He wrote on his X account, 'The Foreign Secretary is the second most important diplomatic official of India, and it would not have required much theatrics to provide him with a courtesy meeting slot.'

Although his visit has been postponed for now, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs say that preparations for the visit are ongoing. 'The visit will take place between the two countries at an appropriate time, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is making preparations for it,' said the official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 'The visit can happen at any time, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is always ready for it.' *(-Corrected as Vikram Misri should be Indian Foreign Secretary, otherwise stated.) -Editor*