Nepal, India plan to ink deals during PM’s visit

Kathmandu: During Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s upcoming trip to India, the two neighbouring countries are planning to sign a series of agreements, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kathmandu said on Saturday.

According to the Ministry, Dahal, popularly known as Prachanda, will embark on a four-day trip on May 31. This is his first official foreign visit since assuming office in December last year.

   

In a statement, the Ministry said Dahal’s visit is on the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi. Prachanda will be accompanied by his daughter Ganga Dahal and various other dignitaries and high-ranking officers.

After delegation-level talks between Prachanda and Modi on June 1, a series of agreements and memorandums of understanding will be signed, according to Nepali officials.

During the visit, the Nepali side will seek an air entry route via Indian territory for the utilization of its two newly built international airports in Pokhara and Bhairawha, said Haribol Gajurel, the chief political adviser to Prachanda.

In an interview with the local media, Gajurel said that the two sides will also discuss the bilateral energy trade, and execution of the much-delayed Pancheshowr Multipurpose Project which was signed in 1996 but there will be no concrete progress in seeking the solution of the bilateral boundary dispute.

The issue of boundary dispute cannot reach a conclusion in this visit, said Gajurel, which is a bit complex issue.

Nepal and India have a boundary dispute in the Uttarakhand area of India which falls in the Darchula district of Nepal. In response to the Indian political map published in 2019, the Nepal government in May 2020 released a new map incorporating Kalapani, Lipu Lekh, and Limpiyadhura inside its map which is currently occupied by India.

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