After a 17-year long gap, Nepal and US will come together at a bilateral consultative meeting!<\/p>\n
The two countries are holding a meeting to review bilateral relations and explore new areas of cooperation in the wake of Nepal\u2019s new political scenario.<\/p>\n
According to Nepal Foreign Affairs Ministry (MoFA), Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali will be visiting US on December 17, 2018 to meet the US Secretary of State<\/a> Michael Pompeo.<\/p>\n Amidst a public function in Gulmi on December 16, 2018, Gyawali called the visit \u2018significant\u2019 as this will leave no room for the notion that USA always looks at Nepal through \u2018New Delhi\u2019s perception\u2019.<\/p>\n This has been a common perception in Kathmandu<\/a> following US opinion, based on India\u2019s assessment of Nepal\u2019s internal politics, development priorities and regional & multilateral issues.<\/p>\n Bilateral Meetings<\/strong> \u201cI will urge US officials to pursue and exercise independent views and position while assessing Nepal\u2019s foreign policy, on Nepal\u2019s geo-political positioning, regional and multilateral cooperation and collaboration,\u201d Gyawali categorically told the Post.<\/p>\n US has decided to provide Nepal MCC support which focuses on fighting poverty through economic development.<\/p>\n \u201cAs independent countries, Nepal and the United States have to look at each other with independent eyes. \u201cIf there remains any confusion, we will erase them,\u201d said Gyawali<\/span>.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Besides this, both the countries\u2019 foreign representatives will discuss on boosting trade, tourism investment and people-to-people contact and various other potential areas of cooperation.<\/p>\n Nepal will also propose the establishment of a bilateral consultative mechanism between the two countries. The mechanism will be created to draw in US cooperation in line with Nepal\u2019s national priorities and maintain documentation of the meetings outcome.<\/p>\n It is important to note that Nepal is giving primary importance to establishing such bilateral constructive mechanisms with all major countries.<\/p>\n While it will not be feasible to pitch a similar mechanism this time in US, officials say that Nepal and US will have the foreign secretary consultation meeting to discuss the system and sign a MoU.<\/p>\n Foreign Policy Expert Opinions<\/strong> Experts are also of the opinion that this visit will remove Nepal\u2019s speculation that the US Government is not comfortable with the current leftist government.<\/p>\n Nepal Delegation to US<\/strong> Nepal Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi will lead the Nepali side, while the Department of State, South and Central Asian Affairs Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Alice G Walls will head the US delegation.<\/p>\n The Nepali delegation also includes SA Arjun Kumar Karki, joint secretaries from MoFA and Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home Affairs and officials from the Nepali Embassy in Washington DC.<\/p>\n Gyawali\u2019s visit is seen as an attempt to reach out to global powers to establish Nepal<\/a> as a prominent position in the international scene<\/p>\n
\nDuring his US visit, Gyawali will interact with high-level officials from the White House, USAID, Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), US Senators and Congressmen among others.<\/p>\n
\nForeign Policy experts in Kathmandu opine that the US bilateral meeting invitation shows the importance US attaches to Nepal.<\/p>\n
\nBesides Foreign Ministers, a team of government delegations of both countries will also hold discussions during his visit.<\/p>\n