The foreign minister will also open talks on establishing a special economic zone in Birgunj town on the India-Nepal border where India has a consulate.

The Nepali foreign minister will meet her Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna Tuesday. On Wednesday, she is scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and leader of the United Progressive Alliance Sonia Gandhi.

Besides, she will also hold talks with Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma, Defence Minister A.K. Antony, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, and Home Minister P. Chidambaram.

Besides trade and investment, she will also discuss issues of bilateral interests, which includes border encroachment allegations, security and the current political situation. Koirala will also meet Indian opposition leader L.K. Advani and Rajnath Singh, president of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Koirala is the daughter of five-time Nepali prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala whose Nepali Congress party enjoys close ties with India's ruling Congress party.

The Nepali foreign minister's visit is also expected to establish a personal rapport since she spent her childhood in India when her father was jailed during the pro-democracy struggle in Nepal and her family went into exile.

Sujata Koirala had studied in Visva-Bharati, the university founded by Rabindranath Tagore in West Bengal, and as a schoolgirl had maintained links with Indian leaders, including the late Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi, to lobby for her father's release.