US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Afreen Akhtar arrived in Kathmandu on a two-day visit to Nepal on Monday. During her stay in Kathmandu, she will hold discussions with Nepal Army officials, the US Embassy said. Though the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) was endorsed by the Parliament, the State Partnership Program (SPP) remained controversial. Following which, the government said it would not participate in the scheme.

The US, however, wants to implement the SPP in Nepal, according to a source.

The source said that Akhtar will hold discussions with Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Parshuram Sharma and high ranking officials on the SPP. This is the third high-level visit from the United States within three weeks and since the formation of a new government under CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Earlier on February 7, Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), had arrived in Kathmandu. Before Power, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland had visited Nepal.