Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli will lead a 46-member delegation involving ministers, officials, parliamentarians, leaders, media persons, security officials, and businessmen during his maiden visit to India as the PM that starts on Friday.

A Cabinet meeting on Tuesday approved the delegation that includes Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa, Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel and Home Minister Shakti Basnet. Besides the official delegation, over two dozen members of the business community will also accompany the PM to New Delhi.

Though DPM Thapa was reluctant to visit India, PM Oli on Monday evening invited him for a dinner at his residence in Baluwatar and sought his company. According to sources, Oli had reminded Thapa that it would not send a positive message across for the foreign minister to skip the PM’s visit.

The Cabinet meeting also decided to form a political mechanism ahead of the PM’s visit to correct the demarcation of the seven provinces, according to Sherdhan Rai, minister for Information and Communication Technology.