Indian minister arriving on day-long visit today Likely to sign MoU on 800 vehicles for polls
KATHMANDU, JUL 09 -
Cutting short his visit by a day, Indian External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid is arriving in Kathmandu on Tuesday morning and leaving for New Delhi the same day. His visit is the first high-level one from the southern neighbour ever since the Khil Raj Regmi-led election government took the helm in mid-March.
During his nine-hour stay, a Memorandum of Understanding is likely to be signed between the two sides, as India is providing around 800 vehicles for the upcoming Constituent Assembly elections. Most of the India-donated vehicles will be used for security and logistic purposes in the CA polls announced for November 19. India had also donated 500 vehicles to Nepal in the 2008 CA polls.
The Indian minister is scheduled to meet President Ram Baran Yadav, Chairman of Interim Election Council Regmi and top leaders of the major political parties.
As Khurshid begins his first Nepal sojourn, political leaders and diplomats in Kathmandu believe that his visit will help Nepal overcome the long political transition and encourage the political parties to embark on the path to the elections.
“At a time when Nepal is struggling to end the protracted political transition, his visit would help us overcome the remaining obstacles to the peace and constitution drafting processes,” said Former Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav Yadav.
A senior diplomat in Indian Embassy in Kathmandu, requesting anonymity, said Khurshid is coming on a goodwill visit to support democratic aspirations of the Nepali people.The Indian minister is also scheduled to meet his Nepali counterpart Madhav Ghimire. In the meeting, the duo are expected to dwell on the entire gamut of bilateral relations, economic assistance to Nepal and Indian support for the CA elections. In his separate meetings with political leaders, Khurshid will take fresh stock of the recent political development in Nepal and will assure of whole-hearted Indian support to conduct the polls. He is also holding a joint meeting with top leaders of the four major political parties and some former prime ministers during a tea reception.
Foreign Department chief of UCPN (Maoist) Ram Karki, however, has a different perspective about the visit. “We must welcome the guest, but at a time when we are in a deep political stalemate, it would be good if the close neighbours stay away from our internal affairs,” he said referring to the recent visit of Chinese State Councilor Yang Jiechi.
Terming the visit an opportunity to seek best wishes from the southern neighbour for the polls, former Nepali Ambassador Shambu Ram Shimkhada said his arrival should not be called a customary one at a time when Nepal is passing through the political transition. “India has been playing key roles in every big changes in Nepal,” he said.
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