WorldNepal
New Indian ambassador Sudhakar Dalela lands in Kathmandu a day before Misri's visit
The former envoy to Bhutan takes charge in Nepal as Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri prepares to begin a two-day visit on Wednesday.
Key points
- Sudhakar Dalela arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday to take up his post as India's ambassador.
- He was India's ambassador to Bhutan for three years.
- Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri begins a two-day Nepal visit on Wednesday.
India’s new ambassador to Nepal, Sudhakar Dalela, arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday to take up his post, landing at Tribhuvan International Airport a day before Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri is due in the Nepali capital.
Dalela comes to Kathmandu from New Delhi, where he served as secretary for economic relations in the Ministry of External Affairs. Before that he was India’s ambassador to Bhutan for three years. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1993.
Misri due on Wednesday
His timing puts him at the centre of a busy week. Vikram Misri begins a two-day visit to Nepal on Wednesday, and the new ambassador will be in post for the foreign secretary’s meetings.
Nepal matters to New Delhi as a close neighbour with an open border, deep trade links and a large flow of Indian pilgrims and tourists. Indian visitors to Muktinath Temple have driven a near doubling of SAARC arrivals in Mustang this year, according to the local conservation office.
Dalela now moves from one Himalayan neighbour to another, after his three years in Thimphu.