Afreen Akhter, deputy assistant secretary in Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs at the United States Department of State, has paid a courtesy call on Chief of Army Staff Prabhu Ram Sharma on Tuesday. Akhter, who arrived in Nepal on Monday, met with Sharma at the Nepali Army headquarters, Kathmandu.

According to a press release issued by the Nepali Army, the two discussed matters relating to bilateral ties and mutual interests.

The army believes that these kinds of meetings will help strengthen the relationship between Nepal and the United States of America.

Akhter is the Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs for Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan and the Maldives, as well as the Office of Security and Transnational Affairs at America’s Department of State.

Previously, she was the National Security and Foreign Affairs Advisor to US Senator Chris Van Hollen.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary is the third American official to come to Nepal in less than a month. Her visit comes two weeks after the visit by Undersecretary for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland and three days after USAID Administrator Samantha Power.