Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be visiting Nepal from 11-12 May. This visit is taking place approximately a month after Nepalese Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli visited New Delhi. These back-and-forth visits indicate that India and Nepal are working towards scaling up their bilateral relationship.
What explains the frequent meetings between the premiers of the two countries? The left alliance government in Nepal, headed by Oli, enjoys a strong presence in the national parliament as well as in provincial governments. Given the current domestic political stability, there is greater confidence in Nepal’s external engagements. Further, there seems to be a growing recognition in India as well as in Nepal that deterioration in relations between the two countries, with close socio-economic-cultural relations, is not desirable.