India on Friday said the forthcoming state visit of Indian President Pranab Mukherjee to Kathmandu aims to strengthen the age-old relations with Nepal.

In a press briefing at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Friday, Sudhakar Daelea, joint-secretary (North), noted that the special visit of Mukherjee is the first high-level visit from India since the formation of the new government in Kathmandu in August.

At the invitation of President Bidhya Devi Bhandari, Mukherjee is arriving in Kathmandu on Wednesday. 

“President Mukherjee will be holding talks with President Bhandari, Vice President Nanda Bahadur Pun, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and other leaders on a variety of issues of mutual interest with the objective of expanding ties with Nepal,” said Dalela.

During the visit, Mukherjee will visit Janakpur and Pokhara and will attend a convocation ceremony of Kathmandu University. 

The Indian president will also deliver a lecture on Nepal-India relations at an event to be organised jointly by Indian and Nepali think tanks in Kathmandu.

According to Dalela, the intensive high-level engagements in recent times have provided considerable momentum to India’s close and friendly ties with Nepal.