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Kathmandu Sunday January 20, 2002 Magh 07, 2058.
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Powell ends visit after meeting army top
brass
Military hardware assistance discussed
Post Report
KATHMANDU, Jan 19: US Secretary of State Colin
Powell left here Saturday morning after holding a meeting with the top brass of the Royal
Nepal Army, during which the US assistance on military hardware was discussed, defence
sources said.
Powell arrived here on Friday on a two-day
official to visit to Nepal. He left for Japan by a special aircraft. Finance Minister Dr.
Ram Sharan Mahat and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Arjun Jung Bahadur Singh bid
farewell to Powell at the Tribhuvan International Airport.
Before his departure, Powell met top ranking
officers of the army, including its chief General Prajwalla Shumsher Jung Bahadur Rana,
and discussed possible co-operation between the two countries.
Though army officials declined to reveal details
about their meeting with Powell, an army source told The Kathmandu Post that US
"assistance on military hardware" did figure during the discussions. On Friday,
Powell said that he was aware of the needs of Nepalese military. He has also assured the
Nepal government that a team from the US Embassy here would discuss the needs of the army
in the days ahead.
"We are anxious to hear more about their
needs and I will be meeting with military authorities tomorrow morning before I
depart," Powell had said, during Friday’s joint press conference with Prime
Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. Powell expressed his support to Nepal’s Constitutional
Monarchy and multiparty democracy while condemning the Maoist violence.
Prior to his departure, Powell went on a
sightseeing tour around the capital’s Bouddhanath and lit a lamp on the Buddhist
Stupa.
The US Secretary of State was accompanied by
Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Alan Larson, Assistant Secretary of State
for South Asia Christina Rocca, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs Richard
Boucher, Vice Admiral Walter Doran and other high ranking US officials.
During his whirlwind South Asian tour, Powell
visited Pakistan, Afghanistan and India before coming to Nepal. His primary mission was to
defuse tensions between India and Pakistan, which are on war-ready status with massive
arms build-up on their border.
Powell is attending an aid pledging conference
in Tokyo to raise funds for war-ravaged Afghanistan.
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