KATHMANDU: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala today reiterated that the government would give the responsibility of printing the Machine-Readable Passports (MRP) to Indian government. MRPs are required by travelers to enter foreign countries following policy shifts in Western nations.

International Civil Aviation Organisation has served April 2010 deadline for Nepal to introduce MRP. DPM Koirala, who returned home this morning after participating at the UN General Assembly, told reporters at the Tribhuvan International Airport that the decision to print the passports in India was taken to meet the MRP deadline.

She said, “We're missing the deadline so without any further delay we should print MRP in the India to meet the deadline." She further said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs would work to ensure that the MRPs are printed within the deadline. Acknowledging the mistake on the part of the government to not take the initiative on time, she said, “Such mistake will not repeat hereafter.”