Nepal’s Newly Elected PM To Visit India On 23 August
Nepal’s Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, will arrive in India for a five day visit starting 23 August. This is the PM’s first visit to India post his re-election in June, earlier this year. His visit will come ahead of the third and final phase of the polls scheduled for September 18.
Deuba’s visit to India has come from an invitation by PM Modi. During his visit he is set to visit Bodh Gaya and Tirupati Balaji Temple.
Deuba's visit will focus on implementing the past accords that were signed during his visits to India in 1996, 2002 and 2004 as then prime minister.
The two-decade old Rs 30,000-crore bi-national Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project and other energy and infrastructure related projects are likely to be high on the agenda during Deuba's visit, officials said. The project aims to produce 5,000 MW of electricity.
The detailed literary the Deuba’s visit hasn’t been finalized yet.
As per the Kathmandu post two senior officials have been engaged for the preparations of the visit. "The prime minister is keen to implement the past agreements reached during his three visits to India. While dwelling on the status of the India-funded projects, the prime minister also plans to discuss the issues, if any, that have impeded the projects," said a senior official.
Deuba, 71 is known for his close ties to India took over the reins of Nepal when the country was navigating a political turmoil over the implementation of the Constitution and unrest in the southern plains due to the Madhesi agitation. Deuba had played a key role in bringing the Madhes-based parties on board for the second phase of the local-level polls held on June 28.
As per official sources the PM is hoping for a positive outcome from his visit to India. In 1996, Deuba and then Indian prime minister P V Narasimha Rao had held discussions on reviewing the 1950 Peace and Friendship Treaty and expediting the implementation of the Mahakali Treaty, including the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project and its financing model, Saptakoshi High Dam, Sunkoshi Diversion, Karnali Multipurpose Project and Budhi Gandaki Hydro Electricity Project, among others. In 2002, India and Nepal had agreed for the early conclusion of the Agreement for Mutual Legal Assistance and updating the Extradition Treaty and construction of four Integrated Check-Posts along the Nepal-India border.
Both the countries had called for a plan of action for the early commencement of the Pancheshwar Multipurpose Project. But a detailed project report is yet to be completed. "Time has come for both sides to find out why there has not been desired progress on several understandings reached in the past," the Kathmandu Post quoted Dinesh Bhattarai, foreign relations adviser to Deuba as saying.
