By Our Reporter
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda left for India leading a jumbo team of 88 members on Wednesday afternoon.
The entourage included PM’s daughter Ganga Dahal, Foreign Minister NP Saud, Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala and Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ramesh Rijal, Nepali Ambassador to India, secretaries, and senior officials of the government.
Prime Minister Prachanda is paying a four-day visit to India at the invitation of his Indian counterpart, Narendra Modi.
During the visit, PM Prachanda is scheduled to pay a courtesy call to the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, and Vice-President, Jagdeep Dhankhar.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the PM will hold delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart Modi at Hyderabad House on Thursday and participate in a luncheon organised by the latter. A joint press meeting by the PM duo would follow the meeting.
The Prime Minister will address Nepal-India Business Summit to be jointly organised by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in New Delhi. 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.
On Wednesday, Foreign Minister Saud organised a press meet to brief the media about the PM’s India trip.
The power deal with India would likely take centre stage in the high-level discussions during the official visit of Prime Minister Prachanda to India as Nepal is seeking a long-term power deal with the latter with investment attraction, and export promotion to India and Bangladesh.
“We are planning to forge a long-term power deal with India during this visit. Agenda in this regard is attracting Indian investment in Nepali electricity projects, constructing cross-border transmission lines, and facilitating energy export to Bangladesh through India,” Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Saud said while speaking at the press briefing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday.
India is the largest potential market for Nepali electricity.
Likewise, the PM-led delegation would discuss opening alternative border points to facilitate cross-border trade as the Birgunj-Raxaul border has been overcrowded.
FM Saud said that Biratnagar, Bhairahawa and Nepalgunj are the potential alternatives.
According to him, a new cross-border motorable bridge over the Mahakali River would be developed in Jhulaghat of Sudurpaschim Province to create connectivity with the Uttarakhand state of India. Jhulaghat is also the western end of the Mid-Hill Highway being constructed for more than a decade.
According to the Foreign Minister, this visit would also take some steps to promote the market of Nepali agriculture products in India. Border and other issues and disputes that have long been stalled would be discussed.
Likewise, addressing a meeting of the party’s lawmakers also on Wednesday, the Prime Minister said that he would raise the issue of the border dispute. He reiterated that he would do no bad thing during his visit.
However, many political pundits suspected that the PM could offer something to India for his personal benefit, particularly some rivers to develop hydropower.
Likewise, they argued that the PM might not raise the issue of the Kalapani border.
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