US envoy urges PM Oli to restore essential supplies

Kathmandu, April 6

US Ambassador Alaina B Teplitz, who met Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today, expressed concern about the difficulties faced by the commoners to get essential supplies and urged him to ensure smooth supplies of essential and daily commodities.

According to PM’s Foreign Affairs Expert Gopal Khanal, Teplitz also wanted to know from the PM the latest political developments, including the progress made on the issue of constituency delineation front.

The PM, who met Teplitz in his official residence in Baluwatar, said claims that Nepal was facing problems and its constitution was ‘erroneous’ were baseless and malicious. PM Oli claimed that the country was not facing any problem and the constitution, far from being faulty was an inclusive one, duly incorporating voices of all sides.

The prime minister was referring to a recent EU-India joint statement, which had asked Nepal to resolve the remaining constitutional issues in a time bound manner. According to a source, PM Oli was also disappointed by the latest report of the International Crisis Group, which had termed the new constitution ‘divisive”.

He also said Nepal was capable of resolving its internal affairs on its own.

Ambassador Teplitz, meanwhile, told the PM that the US government had already initiated the process of providing duty-free access to 66 Nepali goods, including textiles, according to a press release issued by the PM’s Secretariat.