KATHMANDU: Visiting US Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Samir Paul Kapur, is scheduled to meet Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle, Foreign Minister Sishir Khanal, and representatives of the Nepal-US Chamber of Commerce and Industry today.
Kapur arrived in Nepal on Monday for a three-day official visit. According to officials, Kapur will listen to Nepal’s policy priorities and communicate how the United States plans to support them. He is also scheduled to visit Patan Durbar Square during his stay.
Ahead of Nepal’s March elections, Kapur had expressed confidence that the polls would be peaceful and stated that the United States was prepared to work with whichever government came to power.
Kapur’s visit has also drawn attention in India, where analysts are closely monitoring his statements on regional geopolitics.
Unlike previous high-level US delegations, Kapur is not scheduled to meet Prime Minister Balendra (Balen) Shah. Foreign ministry officials said no formal request for a meeting with the prime minister was received from the US side, and that the visit agenda was not fully shared with the ministry.
On Monday, shortly after arriving in Kathmandu, he visited the US Embassy in Kathmandu, where he was briefed by embassy officials before holding a meeting with Rastriya Swatantra Party (RSP) chair Rabi Lamichhane.
While the US Embassy in Kathmandu confirmed the visit on social media platform X, Washington has not publicly announced Kapur’s travel schedule, meetings, or engagements.
Following his meeting with Lamichhane, Kapur posted on X that he had a productive discussion with the RSP Chair in Kathmandu, during which they exchanged views on the party’s priorities in the new government and explored areas for cooperation between Nepal and the United States.
He is the highest-ranking US diplomat to visit Kathmandu since the formation of the current government in March, and his meetings with political and economic stakeholders are being closely watched.
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