Both Nepal and India make formal announcement of April6-8 visit PM Oli on Friday
KATHMANDU, March 30: Prime Minister KP Oli, who is paying a three-day state visit to India next week at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, has directed government officials to prepare a brief agenda including expediting implementation of agreements reached between the two countries in the past.
Visit to focus on building trust, implementing past accords: PM
Sources at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) said Prime Minister Oli is in favor of expediting the implementation of various mega projects agreed in the past between the two countries and sign in a select few new projects that can transform lives of people in both the countries and are implementable within a short span of time.
"The prime minister has instructed us not to prepare long agenda. He is in favor of reaching agreements that are result-oriented and can be implemented expeditiously in a time-bound manner. The prime minister has directed us to focus on expediting the implementation of the agreements reached during the visits of predecessors," said a source at the OPMCM.
As many mega projects including Pancheshwar Multi-purpose Project and Postal Highway agreed between the two countries in the past have yet to come into full implementation, Prime Minister Oli during his visit to New Delhi beginning April 6, according to sources, will discuss removing bottlenecks and hurdles, if any, to expedite the implementation of the pending projects.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) and Ministry of Finance (MoF) in consultation with other line ministries are working to finalize the agenda to be discussed during the visit of Prime Minister Oli to India. Issuing separate press statements on Friday, both Nepal and India have formally announced that Oli will begin his state visit from April 6.
According to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the prime minister's entourage will comprise his spouse Radhika Shakya, ministers, members of parliament, secretaries and other high-ranking officials.
During the visit, Prime Minister Oli will pay call on Indian President Ram Nath Kovind and Vice President Shri M Venkaiah Naidu. The prime minister will hold official talks with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and exchange views on matters of mutual interests.
Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and other ministers will call on Prime Minister Oli. After bilateral engagements in New Delhi, the prime minister will also visit Pantnagar, Uttarakhand and attend a function organized at Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, according to MoFA.
This will be the first foreign visit by Oli after assuming the office of prime minister in February. "The upcoming visit will provide an opportunity to the two sides to review wide-ranging cooperative partnership, and to progress it further for the benefit of the two peoples," said the press statement issued by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs.
