KATHMANDU, Feb 19: Minister of External Affairs of India Sushma Swaraj received Prime Minister KP Sharma at Indira Gandhi International Airport on Friday.
Also present to welcome the PM and his entourage was Nepali Ambassador to India Deep Kumar Upadhyay, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae, Migrants' Nepali Association Chair Loknath Bhandari, officials of the Nepali Embassy in the New Delhi and senior officers of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
Swaraj felicitates FSFN Chair Yadav
Later this evening, the Prime Minister is scheduled to attend a reception to be hosted by Ambassador Upadhyay at the Barkhamba Road-based Nepali Embassy on the occasion of the 66th National Democracy Day of Nepal.
PM Oli leaves for India, leading 46-member delegation
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has left for India on a six-day state visit, leading a 46-member jumbo team, on Friday. PM Oli departed from Tribhuvan International Airport at 3:29 pm today after participating in the 65th Democracy Day function organized at the Nepal Army Pavilion, Tundikhel.
Accompanying Oli to his India visit are his wife Radhika, Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa, Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel, Home Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet and Prime Minister's Advisor Bishnu Rimal, among others. Organizing a pres meet at Singha Durbar on Thursday, Oli announced that he wouldn't sign any agreement of long-term significance with India, saying this was not the right time.
The prime minister said his top priority would be to improve the bilateral ties that have soured since Nepal promulgated its new constitution in September last year.
He reiterated that he wouldn't make any compromise, mainly on the five fundamental issues - territorial integrity, national sovereignty, national interest, mutual dignity and co-existence. The prime minister assured one and all that he would avoid any controversial deal.
Traffic police say a special arrangement has been made to avoid traffic hassels.
According to SP Lokendra Malla, spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police Traffic Division, Kathmandu, the Prime Minister will leave Baluwatar at 2 pm. He will the take the route of Lainchaur, Durbarmarga, Babarmahal, Baneshwar, Tinkune, Sinamangal and to the Tribhuvan International Airport. The stated route will be cleared 15 minutes before prime minister embarks on the visit. SP Malla said that the traffic is expected to be thinner today as it is a holiday. The traffic will be diverted depending upon the situation, he added.
(With inputs from RSS)
