KATHMANDU, JUNE 20
The government has decided to inform the United States that it would withdraw from the State Partnership Programme.
Minister of Health and Population Birodh Khatiwada said Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba had earlier said Nepal would not be part of SPP and today's Cabinet decision was in line with his commitment.
The Nepali Army had written to the US Embassy in Nepal in 2015 and 2017, seeking participation in the SPP. The US Embassy in Kathmandu had said that the Nepali Army's request was accepted in 2019. Former prime minister KP Sharma Oli had claimed that he was not aware of the letter written by then army chief Gen Rajendra Chhetri to the US Ambassador in Nepal on 27 October 2015.
The ruling and opposition parties were engaged in blame game over the SPP, with the UML holding the NC and the CPN-MC responsible for expressing willingness to join SPP and the NC and the CPN-MC blaming the UML for the same.
The US Embassy had earlier said that any country desiring to opt out of SPP, could unilaterally do so.
A version of this article appears in the print on June 21, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.
