Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba was supposed to make an official visit to the US in July. But the plan got derailed following the controversy in Nepal over America’s State Partnership Program (SPP).  It is now a near-certainty that Deuba won’t be holding official talks with US President Joe Biden in the Oval Office. That’s a rare opportunity gone begging. The last time the leaders of the two countries had held official talks was back in 2002: when Deuba—during his second prime ministerial stint—sat down with President George W. Bush.  

Government sources say Nepali officials are now in informal talks with the US to set up informal level talks with President Biden on the sidelines of the 77th UN General Assembly that is due in September. Chances of the sit-down, however, appear slim at the moment, as the US side has not offered any guarantees.   

A source close to Deuba tells ApEx that the prime minister will fly to New York to attend the assembly only if the Americans agree to arrange a separate meeting between him and President Biden.  “Or else, our foreign minister could attend the UN General Assembly.”  Deuba is also under pressure from his coalition partners to avoid the US visit before the elections—at a time when Washington is pushing for another SPP-like deal.  The prime minister and his team are acting cautiously so as not to provoke the coalition partners ahead of the November elections.  “The prime minister is not keen on the US trip if the goal is only to address the UN General Assembly,” says the Baluwatar source. The source says Deuba hopes to be re-elected prime minister and, buoyed by his fresh mandate, go on an official US visit.  “Right now he is not in a position to make any agreements with the US.”  Although the UN General Assembly is an important platform, there has been no high-level participation from Nepal since 2018. Last year, too, there was uncertainty over Nepal’s participation in the assembly until the last moment.  By the time Narayan Khadka was appointed the foreign minister on September 22, the general debate had already begun. Khadka dashed off to New York to address the assembly and did not get to interact with world leaders.    This time, however, Khadka too is not so keen on attending the UN General Assembly in lieu of impending elections, say sources.  There has been no prime ministerial-level participation from Nepal in the annual UN gathering of member countries after 2018. That year, KP Sharma Oli had led the Nepali delegation to the UN headquarters. In 2019, the UN assembly was attended by then foreign minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali. In 2020 and 2021, Nepal’s prime ministers had virtually addressed the event.  Dinesh Bhattarai, a former Nepali ambassador to the UN, says the General Assembly is an important platform for a country like Nepal as it offers an opportunity to interact and meet with world leaders.   “As far as practicable, the prime minister should go,” he says. “If not, only then should the foreign minister lead the Nepali delegation at the assembly.”  He adds that the current state of volatile geopolitics also demands a high-level participation.    “The UN General Assembly is an opportunity for Nepal to learn first-hand the positions of powerful countries on changing geopolitics.”  As the Covid-19 pandemic has more or less subsided, world leaders will be attending multilateral forums during the UN gathering. International relations experts say Nepal can utilize this opportunity, including by holding follow-up meetings on some outstanding bilateral issues with India and China.  As the chair of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), Nepal can, for instance, convene a meeting of foreign ministers of the regional body on the margins of the UN General Assembly.