Aug 5, New Delhi, India: Nepali Congress President Sushil Koirala arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for a six-day official visit at the invitation of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He is the fourth Nepali leader to visit the Indian capital since April.
Koirala, who has termed this a goodwill visit and one undertaken to garner India’s support for the upcoming Constituent Assembly elections scheduled for November 19, was received at New Delhi’s international airport by the newly appointed Joint Secretary (North) from India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Abhay Thakur, and Indian envoy to Nepal Jayant Prasad and other officials of protocol section of the MEA. [break]
Also present to receive Koirala was K N Adhikari, Nepal’s Charge d´Affaires in India.
Late in the evening Sunday, Koirala addressed a function organised by India’s Janasamparka Samiti, which is affiliated to the NC.
On Monday, Koirala is set to meet PM Singh at 5 pm at 7 Race Course Road. Before that, the newly-appointed Foreign Secretary of India Sujata Singh will call on Koirala. It is said that he will also hold discussions with the National Security Advisor Monday although the meeting is not mentioned in the MEA programme schedule.
Koirala will also visit the Samadhi of the late Mahatma Gandhi.
On Tuesday, August 6, Koirala is set to meet United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath followed by a meeting with Salman Khurshid, Minister of External Affairs, at Hyderabad House.
Meeting with Sushma Swaraj, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha is also scheduled in the evening.
On Wednesday Koirala will visit Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and meet Akhilesh Yadav, the Chief Minister of UP and leave for Patna on Thursday, where his host will be Nitish Kumar, the Chief Minister of Bihar state of India.
He will return to Kathmandu Friday, August 9.
Koirala is accompanied in the visit by NC secretary generals Prakash Man Singh and Krishna Prasad Sitaula.
Earlier, UPCN (Maoist) Chairman Prachanda had visited Delhi in the last week of April followed by Senior NC leader Sher B Deuba and senior UML leader Madhav Nepal just a fortnight ago.
India has extended invitations to senior Nepali leaders in a bid to urge the leadership to hold elections at the earliest and to express Indian support for strengthening democracy and peace in Nepal.
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