Nepal PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal reaching Delhi today on four-day visit

The two sides are likely to sign agreements for developing two hydropower projects—Lower Arun and Phukot in western Nepal (Karnali) —by Indian public sector companies.

On Tuesday, Dahal assured a parliamentary committee that he will not sign any deal that cannot be implemented or ‘goes against our interest’. Before his Delhi visit, the PM has also put on hold a USD6 billion contract for military purchases from China apparently after weighing its implications.

Dahal assured the parliament to take up with Indian authorities some contentious issues including territorial disputes along the Nepal-Uttarakhand border.

Former Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli said Dahal ‘must protest’ against the inclusion of Lumbini (Buddha’s birthplace) and Kapilvastu in the ‘Akhand Bharat’ murals at the newly built Indian Parliament. “You should not undertake this trip if you cannot raise it,” Oli said. Earlier, Energy Minister Shakti Basnet, who will accompany Dahal to India, said “the government has taken note and is ascertaining facts”.

Building a cross-border electricity transmission line, power trade with Bangladesh through Indian grid, and supply of chemical fertilisers will be top on Nepal agenda for discussion, an official said.

Nepal, it is learnt, will also invite investments from Indian industrialists as he is scheduled to address an assembly jointly organised by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The official said agreements on construction of a new integrated check post in Bhairahawa-Gorakhpur, a dry port in Chandani-Dodhara in western Nepal and inauguration of an integration check post in Nepalgunj as well as that of a rail yard in Biratnagar-Jogbani will be formalised during the visit.

Dahal will wind up his visit on June 3 after visiting Indore and Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh.