KATHMANDU, Sept 23: Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai said that Nepal will support Palestine’s bid for statehood if there is a voting at the United Nation’s 66th General Assembly.
Talking to media in New York, PM Bhattarai said that Nepal would back Palestine’s long struggle for independence.[break]
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is all set to submit a historic request to the United Nations to admit Palestine as a member state despite fierce Israeli and US opposition.
Meanwhile, RSS reported that Bhattarai claimed that the US has begun process to remove his party, the UCPN (Maoist), from its ‘terrorist list’.
Bhattarai, who is Vice-chairman of the UCPN (Maoist) party, made this claim in an interaction with the Nepali media persons in New York. He is currently in the US to participate in the UN General Assembly.
Stating that he had the opportunity to talk in brief with US President Barack Obama during the reception he hosted for the visiting Heads of State and Governments, Bhattarai said President Obama gave some indications of removing his party from the terrorist list.
During his meeting with the US President, Prime Minister Bhattarai said conflict in Nepal took place as a result of poverty and backwardness and that his party led the conflict, while urging him to treat his party, dedicated to peace, constitution and people´s interest, in par with other mainstream political parties.
Dr. Bhattarai also held a bilateral meeting with the President of the Republic of Slovenia Dr. Danilo Ruik on Thursday and the two leaders shared views on strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries, according to the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York.
Also present on the occasion were Ambassador/Permanent Representative Gyan Chandra Acharya and Acting Foreign Secretary Durga Prasad Bhattarai.
Similarly, the Prime Minister had interactions with under secretaries general representing political affairs, peace keeping operations, economic and social affairs, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), office of the Secretary-General, children in armed conflict as well as senior officials from natural disaster management unit and UNDP.
Nepal’s peace process, development challenges and Nepal’s involvement in UN peace keeping operations were among the issues discussed on the occasion.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Kaji Shrestha was also present at the interactions.
PM Dr. Bhattarai is scheduled to hold a meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on September 24.
Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Shrestha attended the high-level meeting on Nuclear Safety and Security convened by UN Secretary-General.
On the occasion, DPM Shrestha stressed on the need for maintaining the highest possible standard of nuclear safety and security in each and every nuclear power plants operating around the world.
He said Nepal wishes to take the economic advantages of nuclear technology particularly in the medical and agricultural sectors.
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