KATHMANDU: The Indian Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday formally announced state visit of its President Pranab Mukherjee to Nepal.

"At the invitation of the Right Honourable Bidya Devi Bhandari, President of Nepal, President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee will pay a state visit to Nepal from 2 to 4 November 2016," the MEA said in a statement today, "A high-level delegation will accompany the President."

"This will be the first visit of a President of India to Nepal in 18 years," it added.

Meanwhile, the statement informed that Mukherjee would hold meetings with his Nepali counterpart Bhandari and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal among others to discuss a multitude of bilateral relations and mutual interests.

Likewise, the Indian leader is also scheduled to visit Janakpur and Pokhara during his Nepal sojourn.

"The state visit reflects the priority that the Government of India attaches to further strengthening its age-old, unique partnership with Nepal, and our shared historical and cultural linkages and wide-ranging people to people contacts."

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