New Delhi
14 January 2010
India was expected to ink five pacts for economic and technical cooperation
during the visit to Nepal by Minister of External Affairs SM Krishna.
He would visit Nepal from January 15 to 17, at the invitation of Sujata Koirala, Deputy
Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Nepal. It would be his first visit to the Himalayan
republic as Minister of External Affairs.
The Ministry of External Affairs said that the visit was in consonance with the ongoing
high-level bilateral interaction between the two countries. During the visit, Mr Krishna
would call on President Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal. He
would hold talks with his counterpart and meet some other Nepalese leaders such as
Nepali Congress President Girija Prasad Koirala, Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
chief Prachanda and Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML)
Chairman Jhalanath Khanal.
The pacts would include one for construction of a road in Terai. The road, that will
provide better connectivity with India, would be built at a cost of Rs 680 crore. Another
pact would be in the power sector and it would entail electrification of five villages in
Nepal. Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) would also be signed for establishment
of a Scientific and Research Centre in Nepal, providing Central Depository System
facility for Nepal Stock Exchange, and establishment of Nepal Police Academy.
The visit assumed significance as it would come in the midst of renewed political turmoil
in Nepal. It was struggling to achieve political stability and move ahead with the peace
process to consolidate democratic achievements by drafting a new constitution. The
status of Nepal's peace process was expected to be discussed. Foreign Secretary
Nirupama Rao and Joint Secretary (North) Satish Mehta would accompany ther minister.
Mr Krishna was scheduled to visit Birgunj, a border town in southern Nepal, to
inaugurate an integrated checkpost built with Indian assistance and also offer prayers at
the holy Pashupatinath Temple in Kathmandu.
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