Foreign Affairs Department in-charge of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), Vijaya Chauthaiwale, met with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli at the latter’s official residence in Baluwatar, Kathmandu, on Thursday.

Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, who is said to have extended the invitation to the BJP leader, was also present at the meeting.

“Honoured to call on Rt Hon PM @kpsharmaoli ji today. It’s (a) pleasure to be in Kathmandu on the invitation of General Secretary of Nepal Communist Party and Finance Minister Shri Bishnu Paudel ji,” Chauthaiwale wrote in his Twitter.

The BJP leader’s visit is followed by three other high-level visits made by Indian dignitaries in the recent past.

Chief of Indian foreign intelligence agency RAW, Samant Goel, had visited Kathmandu in October, followed by Chief of Indian Army General, MM Naravane, and Foreign Secretary, Harsh Vardhan Shringla, in November.

Similarly, two days after India’s top diplomat wrapped up his visit to Nepal, China’s State Councilor and Defence Minister Wei Fenghe arrived in Kathmandu on November 29 for a day-long visit.

High-level visits from representatives of Indian as well as the Chinese governments come at a time when the intra-party rift within ruling Nepal Communist Party is rife and Nepal-India bilateral relations are comparatively strained.