KATHMANDU: Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, today had a brief courtesy meeting with Minister of External Affairs of India, Sushma Swaraj.

The Minister reached India earlier today to attend the funeral rite ceremony of former Prime Minister of India, Atal Bihari Vajpayee who passed away Thursday.

Minister Gyawali expressed, on behalf of the government and people of Nepal, heartfelt condolence on the demise of former prime minister and senior leader of India. He handed over to his Indian counterpart the message of condolences sent by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

During the meeting, the two ministers also discussed about the issues relating to the Nepal-India relations, exchanging views about the upcoming fourth Summit of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) scheduled to be held in Kathmandu on August 30-31, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.