Prime Minister Oli to leave for Switzerland on January 20

Published On: January 8, 2019 12:35 PM NPT By: Republica | @RepublicaNepal

File photo/Republica

KATHMANDU, Jan 8: Prime Minister KP Oli will leave Kathmandu for Switzerland on January 20 to participate in the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF), according to officials.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister's Office are making preparations for the visit. However, the Cabinet has yet to endorse the date of the prime minister's visit.

"Detail itinerary of the visit and the composition of the delegation have yet to be finalized," a senior official at the ministry told Republica Online.

Oli's Foreign Relations Advisor Rajan Bhattarai told that the prime minister will leave Kathmandu for Switzerland on January 20 to participate in the WEF's annual meeting.

Oli is going to be the first head of government from Nepal to address the forum.

The annual meeting of the forum, which is an independent international organization for public-private cooperation formed to improve the state of the world, is being held in Davos-Klosteet to focus on the theme of ‘globalization’.

Apart from attending the WEF annual meeting, Prime Minister is also scheduled to hold meetings with the world leaders on the margins of the event, according to sources.

Meanwhile, the government officials are trying to make the prime minister's visit bilateral one. Sources said that Oli is likely to hold bilateral talks with President of the Swiss Confederation Ueli Maure during his stay.

Concluding his week-long visit, Oli will return home on Jan 27. This is the first time that the head of the government of Nepal received such invitation to address the forum. Officials at the ministry confirmed that none of the government heads of Nepal in the past had ever addressed the forum.

Addressing the parliament on Sunday, Prime Minister Oli informed that he was participating in the WEF this year as a speaker.

“I take this invitation as international recognition of our democracy, stability and our journey toward development since this is the first time that a sitting prime minister of Nepal has received a formal invitation to address the forum,” he said.