PM reaches Delhi with 30-member team

New Delhi, April 1:

Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala arrived here this evening to attend the 14th summit of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) that begins on Tuesday.

Koirala is heading a 30-member team to the two-day summit that includes Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan, Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, MP Sujata Koirala, chief secretary Dr Bhoj Raj Ghimire, his foreign affairs adviser Dr Suresh Raj Chalise and his private physician Dr Madhu Ghimire.

Koirala is scheduled to make a courtesy call on Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh tomorrow morning and also meet President APJ Abdul Kalam Azad that evening. During his meeting with Singh, Koirala will brief his Indian counterpart on the peace process in Nepal. According to Dr Chalise, discussion will focus on the Tarai problem and how to regulate matters on the Nepal-India border. Koirala will ask India to curb criminal activities on the latter’s terrain in the open Nepal-India areas, Dr Chalise said.

Koirala will also meet Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuk, the King of Bhutan, and discuss the Bhutanese refugee issue. Dr Chalise said Nepal had earlier taken the stand that the refugees should be repatriated. Meanwhile, Dr Chalise assuaged quizzing journalists that Koirala’s health was “perfectly fine”. He added that Koirala was also scheduled to visit China around April-end or early June.