KATHMANDU, JULY 15
CPN-Maoist Centre Chair Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said that he is visiting neighbouring country India keeping Nepal and the Nepali people's interest at the centre.
Addressing a press meet organised at Tribhuvan International Airport before leaving for India today, he said a common understanding would be forged during his India visit on several topics that remain unresolved for a long time now and it would be focused on resolving the problems.
The CPN-MC chair said that although this visit might seem like a sudden visit, preparations for it were going on for the last two months.
Chair Dahal informed that the invitation for the visit from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had been received through the then ambassador of India to Nepal Vinaya Mohan Kwatra.
He said the visit was a goodwill visit at the invitation of BJP President JP Nadda. According to him, this visit will focus on expanding ties with the India's ruling party, BJP, and the Indian people. Former prime minister Dahal said he would hold talks with the Indian side by keeping the various aspects of Nepal-India relations at the centre.
He further said that discussions would be held on matters like Nepal's overall development, bilateral ties, and the growing trade deficit and problems seen at the border through diplomatic dialogue, during the various bilateral and multilateral meetings in course of the visit. Leader Dahal also shared that views would be exchanged on different aspects of matters of economic and mutual interest and other topics of concern.
He clarified that there was no any connection between the recent visit to Nepal by the Communist Party of China foreign department chief and his current visit to India.
"There is no interconnection," he asserted.
Chair Dahal shared that this visit has been taken as the expansion of the relations between the BJP and his party. He expressed the belief that the visit from the position of the top leader of the major partner of the incumbent coalition government would create a further positive environment in the relations between the two countries.
Chair Dahal said he reached the official residence of the prime minister at Baluwatar today itself and held a discussion with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and also informed the Foreign Ministry about his India visit.
The CPN-MC chair is scheduled to meet Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other government officers during his stay in India. Saying the visit would play a significant role for the country and current alliance, he mentioned that he has taken the visit in an enthusiastic manner.
On the occasion, he shared that he was embarking on a visit to China in near future.
He recalled that a significant meeting was held with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Indian PM Modi on the issue of tripartite partnership during the BRICS Summit held in Goa in October 2016.
Chair Dahal further said that a discussion would be held about providing petroleum products to Nepal at a cheaper price.
Senior leader Narayankaji Shrestha and Janardan Sharma, Matrika Prasad Yadav and Jhakku Prasad Subedi, among other leaders, were present at Tribhuvan International Airport to bid farewell to Chair Dahal. Dahal will return home on July 17.
A version of this article appears in the print on July 16, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
