Nepal PM Oli arrives on 6-day visit to India

In his first overseas trip after assuming charge of the top office, Nepal Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli arrived here on a six-day visit, during which he will hold extensive talks with the Indian leadership with a major focus on mending ties hit by issues relating to the Himalayan nation's new Constitution.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj received Oli, accompanied by a 77-member delegation, at the airport, reflecting importance India attaches to the visit.

Oli and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will hold extensive talks on a range of issues on Saturday, following which both the sides are expected to sign a number of pacts to step up cooperation in several key sectors.

It is expected that India will ask Nepal to complete the “unfinished task” of making the Constitution more inclusive to address the concerns of the Madhesi community, which share close family and cultural ties with Indians.

Ties between the two countries had soured in the wake of agitation by the Madhesi community opposing Nepal’s Constitution, saying it failed to address their concerns over representation and homeland.

The agitators had blocked the trading points for almost four months crippling supply of petroleum products, medicines and other commodities by India to that country. The blockade was lifted this month.

It is the first bilateral visit by a Nepalese Prime Minister here after the trip by the then premier Baburam Bhattarai in October 2011. Oli's predecessor Sushil Koirala had attended Modi's swearing-in ceremony in May 2014. "Welcoming our Northern guest. EAM @SushmaSwaraj receives Nepal's PM KP Sharma Oli on his State visit to India," External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup tweeted along with a photographs of Swaraj receiving him.