PM terms India visit very successful; No joint communiqué
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Kathmandu / February 24: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said the six-day state visit to India was very successful, for it helped to clear misunderstandings between the two countries and restore harmonious relations.
Upon his arrival home by completing India visit on Wednesday night, PM Oli told media at a press conference held at the Tribhuvan International Airport that though the Nepal-India relations witnessed frosty situation for some time, his visit was successfully in wiping it out, and help restore cordial relations. He also argued that such situation would not repeat again.
“I experienced profound expression of friendliness of Indian leaders and people to the Nepali delegation and the people,” the PM said, it obviously helps boost relations at the people-to-people level.
Sharing about the milestones during his stay, the PM said the government would prod for a committee on Pancheshwor hydropower project to accelerate the project activities. According to him, the visit of the Nepali delegation at Bhuj of Gujarat was significant, as the reconstruction activities there after the 2001 earthquake could be tremendously useful for Nepal’s reconstruction drive. The people at Bhuj also showed immense friendliness to the Nepali team.
He further informed that various seven agreements including memorandum of understanding were signed between Nepal and India during the visit.
The agreements were on the post-earthquake reconstruction, strengthening of road infrastructure in the Terai area of Nepal, establishment of Nepal Academy of Music and Drama, transit routes, rail transport, 400 KV Muzaffarpur-Dhalkebar transmission line and establishment of eminent persons group. Other letters of exchange on transit routes were- (i) transit between Nepal and Bangladesh through Kakarbhitta-Banglabandh corridor, and (ii) operationalization of Vishakhapatnam port.
One of the significant memorandums of understanding signed during the visit was on utilization of Rs 25 billion grant component of India’s assistance package for post-earthquake reconstruction assistance.
Moreover, the PM Oli said the delegation he led also met with the film producers, singers and artistes of India and urged them to visit Nepal’s beautiful places for film shooting. In response, they showed interest to help promote tourism in Nepal by shooting films here if Nepal would provide them security and safety.
The discussion with the businesspersons of India also added hope that Indian investment would increase in Nepal, according to him. India was requested for investment especially in hydropower and tourism.
During his six-day visit, PM Oli had various meetings including with Indian President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, and ministers, among others. On a different note, the Prime Minister said “I telephoned Deputy Prime Minister here early morning to learn more about the plane crash. The plane crash has not only saddened all Nepalis but also pointed out the need to make our sky safer,” he added.
The PM also thanked Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar for carrying out the day to day administrative affairs during his absence.
PM Oli was received by the Speaker, Deputy Prime Ministers and ministers at Tribhuvan International Airport.
Although PM Oli has maintained that his visit was ‘highly successful’ in clearing the misunderstandings that had surfaced after the promulgation of the constitution, no joint communiqué was issued at the end of the visit, in a major departure from the tradition.
According to highly placed sources on both sides, India’s reservations (about some constitutional provisions) continue to persist, as a result, the visit ended without issuing a joint communiqué.
A joint communiqué has been the tradition at least since 1990 when Nepali heads of state or government visit India. With inputs from RSS