k//fi6«dGqL yfkf ef/t k|:yfg pkk|wfgdGqL Pjd k//fi6«dGqL sdn yfkf blIf0f Pl;ofnL ljZjljBfnosf] k|yd bLIffGt ;df/f]xdf efu lng z'qmaf/ ef/tsf] /fhwfgL gofFlbNnL k|:yfg ug'{cl3 lqe'jg cGt/fli6«o ljdfg:yndf ;~rf/sdL{;Fu s'/f ub}{ . tl:a/ M gf/fo0f Gof}kfg], /f;; DPM Thapa talks to media before flying to Delhi on Friday. Photo: RSS

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Kamal Thapa reached New Delhi on Friday, aiming to help normalise Nepal-India relations.

This is the fourth time that Thapa has embarked on an official visit to New Delhi after the promulgation last year of Nepal's new constitution – which India merely took 'note of' rather than welcoming.

Thapa, accompanied by senior officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), will participate in South Asian University's convocation ceremony on Saturday. Later in the day, he is scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. Speaking with journalists in Kathmandu before leaving for New Delhi, Thapa said: "The objective of my two-day India visit is to strengthen the ties between the two countries."

After India cut off the supply of fuel and essential commodities to Nepal last year by imposing a blockade at the border, Thapa had visited New Delhi and held talks with top Indian leaders. It was he who, on behalf of Prime Minister KP Oli, floated a three-point proposal in New Delhi to resolve the Madhes crisis.

After the blockade was lifted early this year, he accompanied PM Oli to New Delhi once again. At a joint press conference with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Oli claimed that the "misunderstanding between the two countries has been cleared".

But Kathmandu-Delhi animosity has once again spilled over after the withdrawal of Nepal's ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay and the abrupt cancellation of President Bidya Bhandari's India visit. Meanwhile, Madhesi parties, apparently backed by India, are threatening to intensify their protests, and talks between the government and the agitating forces have stalled.

On the other hand, Nepal's proximity with China has increased, with reports of Chinese President Xi Jinping's possible visit to Nepal on 16 October. Top Chinese leaders and authorities are visiting Kathmandu in quick succession in what is being seen as preparations for Xi's Nepal visit. Vice President Nanda Kishor Pun also embarked on a week-long official visit to Beijing on Friday.