Kathmandu, May 27
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal
‘Prachanda’ is undertaking his maiden foreign trip as the PM of Nepal with a 4-day
visit to India from Wednesday, 31 May 2023.
This is an official visit happening at the
invitation of the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister
will be accompanied by his daughter Ganga Dahal, ministers, secretaries, and senior
officials of the government, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) informed in
a statement on Saturday.
However, the members of his delegation
for the India entourage would be finalised by a meeting of the Cabinet on
Sunday.
This is the fourth visit of Prime
Minister ‘Prachanda’ to India as the Prime Minister of Nepal.
During the visit, PM Prachanda is scheduled
to pay a courtesy call on President of India, Droupadi Murmu, and Vice-President,
Jagdeep Dhankhar.
According to the MoFA, he will hold
delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart Modi at Hyderabad House, the
state guest house of the PM of India which is used for holding meetings with
visiting foreign dignitaries, on Thursday, June 1. A joint press meet by the PM
duo would follow the meeting.
PM Modi will host a luncheon in honour of
PM Prachanda and his delegation.
The Prime Minister will address
Nepal-India Business Summit in New Delhi jointly organised by Federation of
Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII) and interact with business leaders of both countries.
He will also interact with the Nepali
community in India over a welcome reception being hosted by the Ambassador of
Nepal to India, Shankar Prasad Sharma.
PM Prachanda is also scheduled to visit Ujjain
and Indore, Madhya Pradesh before returning to Kathmandu on June 3. The MoFA
said that the visit will further strengthen the age-old, multifaceted, and
cordial relations between Nepal and India.
The government has been making
preparations for the visit for the last couple of months. As per the agenda
sent to the Prime Minister's Office by the line ministries, the upcoming visit
would have a long list of agenda, from electricity trade and investment to air
route, to discuss between the two countries.
Nepal is in need of Indian cooperation
for electricity trade with Bangladesh including a separate transmission line to
the coastal country through India. Likewise, there are chances of inking
agreement for the development of large hydropower projects like Phukot Karnali.
Similarly, two-way air-routes from
Bhairahawa and Mahendranagar is another agenda that Nepal wants India to agree
upon. Earlier in 2019, the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal and Airport
Authority of India had agreed to develop new cross-border air-routes from
Janakpur, Biratnagar and Mahendranagar. However, there has not been much progress
in the implementation part.
Meanwhile, as the second international
airport is in operation in Bhairahawa, Nepal needs an air entry route from the
western part of the country.
A memorandum of understanding between
Nepal and India could also be signed for the development of the Integrated
Check Post and Inland Container Depot (ICP/ICD) in Dodhara Chandani
Municipality during the visit.
Earlier this month, the government had
approved the Environment Impact Assessment report of the project to be developed
at the western end of the country. According to the Nepal Intermodal Transport Development Board
(NITDB), an agency under the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supplies that
has the responsibility to build and facilitate the construction of trade infrastructure,
Indian support was being sought for the development of the trade infrastructure
that would cost about Rs. 20 billion for the first two phases.
Inauguration of
Nepalgunj ICP, Biratnagar Rail Yard and stone laying of Bhairahawa ICP could
also happen during the visit.
Similarly, agreement
on cross-border digital payment is another agenda. According to Indian media
reports, the two countries have already prepared the draft of the agreement and
it would be signed during the visit. This agreement would allow Indian tourists
to pay in Nepal via their e-payment wallets.
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