Indian foreign secretary Nirupama Rao is visiting Nepal in January to take up bilateral issues with the government of Nepal amid the political deadlock over the formation of a new government.
Rao will begin her three-day visit on January 18 and will meet with the Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, the chief of the opposition Maoist party, Pushpa Kamal Prachanda and leaders of the other major political parties.
Rao's visit is seen as crucial as it comes amid the failure of lawmakers to elect a new prime minister despite 16 rounds of run-off polls, prolonging the leadership crisis in the country and stalling the 2006 peace process.
This will be Rao's third visit to Nepal since she assumed office in 2009.
Some information for this report was provided by Times of India and PTI
