Nepal Home Minister Sudan Gurung to visit India next week

Kathmandu [Nepal]: Nepal Home Minister Sudhan Gurung will visit the Indian capital, New Delhi, next week to attend the BIMSTEC Home Ministers' meeting, three sources privy to the visit told ANI.

It will be the Home Minister's first foreign visit since assuming office. As per the source from the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, the invitation was extended to the Nepal side via the Foreign Ministry last week.

As per Nepali officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nepal Home Minister will fly to Delhi on October 12 for the first meeting of Home Ministers of BIMSTEC.


"He will be attending the meeting on October 13," an official from the Foreign Ministry confirmed to ANI.

Along with Nepal, Home Ministers of other BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) nations will also participate in the meeting.

It will be the very first meeting of Home Ministers from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Thailand, all the BIMSTEC member nations, since its establishment in 1997.

"On the sidelines of the meeting, the Nepali Home Minister is also expected to call on his Indian counterpart," an official from Nepal's Home Ministry confirmed to ANI.

During the Fourth BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu in 2018, the leaders had agreed to hold the Home Ministerial-level meeting. It was also outlined during the summit that the meeting will focus on strengthening cooperation and coordination among law enforcement, intelligence and security agencies.

Along with the aim of the meeting at the time, it was determined to continue with the BIMSTEC National Security Chiefs meetings as part of promoting cooperation and coordination on counter-terrorism and transnational crimes.