Kathmandu, May 28 (PTI) Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ on Sunday met former premiers, foreign ministers and leaders of different political parties to discuss matters related to his upcoming visit to India, according to his aides.
Prachanda will travel to India on Wednesday on a four-day official visit for talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and other leaders to further strengthen the age-old, multifaceted and cordial ties. This will be his first bilateral visit abroad after assuming office in December 2022.
“The preparations for the official visit of Prime Minister ‘Prachanda’ to India have reached the final stage. A meeting of the Council of Ministers on Monday will finalise the agenda of the visit,” said Information and Communication Minister Rekha Sharma.
She said different ministries have been preparing the agenda for the visit.
“Topics ranging from energy cooperation to the border issue will figure during the Prime Minister’s bilateral talks in Delhi,” she said, adding that discussions are still in progress and the agenda is yet to be finalized.
Prime Minister Prachanda on Sunday met former prime ministers Jhalanath Khanal, K P Sharma Oli, Baburam Bhattarai and Sher Bahadur Deuba separately to discuss matters related to his upcoming visit to India, according to his aides.
Similarly, the Prime Minister also held consultations with the president of Lokatantrik Samajwadi Party Mahantha Thakur, Rashtriya Swatantra Party president Ravi Lamichhane, and former foreign ministers Bhesh Bahadur Thapa, Prakash Chandra Lohani and Bimala Rai Poudel among others, they said.
Meanwhile, experts have advised the Prime Minister to take up issues like energy cooperation, economic issues, easy access to the Indian market for Nepalese goods, including agricultural products, and issues related to the trade deficit, sources said.
Prachanda, 68, will be accompanied by his daughter Ganga Dahal. He will lead a delegation comprising ministers, secretaries and senior government officials.
He will hold delegation-level talks with Modi on June 1. The talks will be followed by a joint press meet by the two prime ministers.
Nepal is important for India in the context of its overall strategic interests in the region, and the leaders of the two countries have often noted the age-old “Roti Beti” relationship.
The country shares a border of more than 1,850 km with five Indian states – Sikkim, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Land-locked Nepal relies heavily on India for the transportation of goods and services. PTI SBP ZH ZH
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