During a meeting held at his official residence at Shital Niwas on Sunday, President Dr Yadav sought suggestions on the issues to be raised in his meetings with top political leaders during his visit to China so that bilateral relations between Nepal and China would be further strengthened. President Yadav expressed confidence that the official visit and exchange of ideas at the highest level after a gap of several years will help bolster ties between the two countries.
President Yadav is visiting China from March 26 to April 1 to attend the Boao Forum for Asia 2015 annual conference, at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping. Apart from his Chinese counterpart and other senior Chinese government officials, Dr Yadav is scheduled to hold meetings with top political leaders attending the forum from various parts of the world.
The president asked the party leaders what he needed to say to leaders from various parts of the world, including those from China, when they inquire about the ongoing constitution-drafting process in Nepal. "The suggestions and information I receive from you at this meeting will be helpful in addressing the curiosity of our friends over the new statute-making process," he said at the meeting.
While urging the top leaders of political parties to make sincere efforts to resolve the remaining disputes surrounding federalism in the new constitution, Dr Yadav in his written statement at the outset of the meeting also urged the political parties to come up with the new constitution at the earliest through intense deliberations and discussions within the Constituent Assembly (CA), on the thorny constitutional issues.
Constituent Assembly (CA) Chairman Subash Nembang, NC Vice President Ram Chandra Paudel, Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Baburam Bhattarai, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, United Democratic Madhesi Front(UDMF) Coordinator Bijaya Kumar Gachchhadar, Rastriya Prajatantra Party Chairman Pashupati SJB Rana, Sadbhawana Party Chairman Rajendra Mahato and Rastriya Janamorcha Chairman Chitra Bahadur KC were among those present at the meeting.
As Prime Minister Sushil Koirala did not turn up at the meeting, former foreign minister and Maoist Vice Chairman Shrestha expressed reservations over Dr Yadav not ensuring the presence of the government's representatives at such a meeting. He maintained that the foreign minister could have attended if the prime minister was unable to do so.
According to Rastriya Janamorcha Chairman KC, the meeting extended best wishes for the president's visit to China while expressing confidence that it would prove a milestone in further strengthening Nepal-China relations. "Since this is a visit of a constitutional president, there were suggestions from all political leaders to convey that the political parties in Nepal were trying to settle differences and bring a new statute at the earliest," KC told Republica.
Likewise, Maoist Vice Chairman and former foreign minister Shrestha suggested that President Yadav actively seek a visit by the Chinese president to Nepal as it has been quite a long time since a Chinese president last visited Nepal. "The visit [to China] will prove highly fruitful if you could help the long awaited visit of the Chinese president to Nepal materialise," he said at the meeting.
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