According to people familiar with the matter, India has formally proposed Naveen Srivastava as its next ambassador to Nepal ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to the country in mid-May.

Srivastava, who heads the external affairs ministry's East Asia division, has played a key role in diplomatic and military talks with China to resolve the two-year-old military standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). He is set to take over as Nepal's envoy from Vinay Kwatra, who was appointed foreign secretary earlier this month.

According to people familiar with the matter in New Delhi and Kathmandu, the Indian side's agreement, or the document formally asking Nepal's concurrence for the posting of Srivastava, has been received and is anticipated to be cleared shortly.

Srivastava currently heads the ministry's division that deals with China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and Mongolia, and is regarded as an expert on China. In addition to representing India at meetings of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on border issues, Srivastava has attended meetings of Indian and Chinese military commanders to discuss the LAC standoff.

He has also served as consul general in Shanghai, and his experience dealing with China will be helpful in Nepal, given Beijing's efforts to extend its influence in the Himalayan country's politics and economy.

The Indian side has proposed Srivastava as its next envoy to Nepal, only days before Modi's planned visit to Lumbini to join his Nepalese counterpart Sher Bahadur Deuba for celebrations marking Buddha Purnima, or the Buddha's birth anniversary, on May 16. India and Nepal have yet to make a formal announcement on the visit.

Deuba paid a three-day visit to India last month, during which he met with Prime Minister Modi. Modi will make his second foreign visit in May, following a three-nation European tour.

The Indian Prime Minister's visit to Nepal is likely to be brief, with no plans for him to visit Kathmandu at this time. Both prime ministers are set to attend ceremonies at Maya Devi Temple, an ancient temple in Lumbini, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

This will be Modi's first visit to Nepal during his second term, as well as the first since the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted travel. During his first term, he traveled to Nepal four times.

India and Nepal are striving to mend ties that were stressed by many issues during the tenure of previous Nepalese Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who was removed in a no-confidence vote last year.

In 2020, Oli's government published a new political map of Nepal that includes the Indian regions of Limpiyadhura, Lipulekh, and Kalapani, sparking a months-long conflict. The Nepalese side was also irritated by the delay in the supply of Made-in-India Covid-19 vaccinations that Kathmandu had paid for.