Narendra Modi to visit Nepal in May, plans to meet Bangladesh PM too

NEW DELHI: After a successful summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Wuhan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now set to meet leaders of two other neighbours critical to India's foreign policy, Nepal and Bangladesh, in May.

Modi will visit Nepal on May 11, which would help maintain the momentum in bilateral ties after his counterpart K P Oli's India trip early in April when the two leaders focused on smoother connectivity links between India and Nepal, officials said.

Plans are also afoot to arrange a visit by Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Vishwa Bharti in Shantiniketan in May to jointly inaugurate a Bangladesh Bhawan with Modi, people familiar with the development told ET.


The bhawan has been built with support from the Hasina government. Bangladesh is headed for Parliamentary elections later this year and New Delhi, which has implemented several development-oriented projects in the neighbouring country, desires to strengthen secular forces in Dhaka.

The Hasina regime has been a steadfast supporter in Delhi’s regional counter-terror initiatives. Modi and Hasina last met on April 19 in London on the side lines of the Commonwealth Summit.

Hasina’s proposed meeting with Modi in Shantiniketan could also act as a feel-good factor in facilitating proposed Teesta pact in future. West Bengal government has been intransigent over sharing of Teesta river waters with Bangladesh, thereby delaying the proposed bilateral pact.

Modi’s meetings with Hasina and Oli would also contribute to the fourth edition of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (Bimstec) summit in Nepal being planned in June or July.

The Modi government is keen to develop the seven-member Bimstec and make it a tool of regional cooperation following Pakistan’s intransigence on South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) counter-terror and connectivity initiatives.

India recently ruled out possibility of participation in the next SAARC Summit scheduled in Islamabad.

After his meetings with the two neighbours, Modi will visit Southeast Asia’s biggest country Indonesia and Singapore in May end and early June for a bilateral trip and Shangri-La Dialogue, respectively, as part of India’s Act East Policy. The visit to Singapore, which is also ASEAN chair for 2018, will have a bilateral component as well.

These visits are expected to take forward Indo-ASEAN commemorative summit and Delhi’s commitment to the region as a balancing power. Modi’s speech in Shangri-La Dialogue – first by an Indian prime minister – will be closely followed by regional and global powers including China in the backdrop Delhi’s persistent emphasis on freedom of navigation in the South China Sea region.