Nepali PM to visit India on Aug 23

Nepali Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba will embark on a five-day state visit to India on August 23, a media report said.Officials from both the countries were working to finalise the itinerary, agenda and the size of the delegation, the Kathmandu Post reported yesterday.Deuba’s visit to India will focus on implementing the past accords that were signed during his earlier visits in 1996, 2002 and 2004 as the prime minister, the report said.“We have received two clear instructions from the prime minister. Firstly, he is keen to implement the past agreements reached during his three visits to India,” two senior officials told the Post. “While dwelling on the status of the India-funded projects, he also plans to discuss the issues, if any, that have impeded the projects,” said one official. “Secondly, the prime minister has told officials that there must be some concrete outcome from the visit.”The much-talked about Pancheshwar multipurpose project (PMP) as well as other energy and infrastructure related projects will be high on the agenda, the official said. The PMP is a bi-national hydropower project to be developed on Mahakali River bordering Nepal and India. Development of PMP and is covered under integrated Mahakali treaty signed between the two countries according to which, equal sizes of underground power house will be constructed on each side of Mahakali river in India and Nepal. Both sides had called for a plan of action for the early commencement of the Pancheshwar multipurpose project. But the detailed project report is yet to be completed, the daily said.“Time has come for both sides to find out why there has not been desired progress on several understandings reached in the past,” said Dinesh Bhattarai, foreign relations adviser to Deuba.During his visit, Deuba will also visit Bodh Gaya and Tirupati Balaji Temple.