Kathmandu, Sept 11:Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Sunday said he is confident that his visit to India will build a strong foundation for mutual trust. Prachanda, who heads the Maoists in Nepal, took over as Prime Minister from K.P. Sharma Oli, who had accused India twice of trying to unseat him.
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Additional support for post-quake reconstruction, purchase trade agreements related to hydropower, and the Postal Highway will be the matters to be discussed during the visit.
Dahal said he was scheduled to meet Nepalis in India, attend a reception at Nepali Embassy in India and hold an interaction with foreign dignitaries on September 15. Mr Prachanda, has, however, said that he was going to India with a positive mind and his endeavour would be to a lay a “strong foundation” for mutual trust between Kathmandu and New Delhi. Later, at an interaction at Nepal Institute of International Relations, he said that he would not sign any controversial deal with India but said that as a leader he should be allowed to “take risk in national interest”.
Lawmakers suggested Dahal to raise issues like controlling criminal activities in the border areas, addressing problems caused to Nepalis by Indian border security forces, as well as controlling smuggling of Nepali migrant workers to third countries via India.
Soon after he took over, Prachanda sent special envoys to India and China in a bid to improve ties with both countries. “The country can not be prosperous without strengthening national unity”, he said. Nepal’s ties with India had strained after a months-long border blockade a year ago by the ethnic minority protesters over the new Constitution, which they claim is discriminatory to their interest.
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Prachanda has always been floating the policy of tripartite cooperation among the three countries – China, Nepal and India – and he believes it could fulfil the Nepali people’s aspirations of change and prosperity, according to authorities here.
