LOCAL NEWS THE RISING NEPAL (DAILY)

Visit expected to focus on crucial issues

BY A STAFF REPORTER

Kathmandu, July 19:Despite Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala himself calling his forthcoming visit to India more as a goodwill visit than anything else, there is significant interest in the political circle as well as in the media about the visit.

This will be the first visit by the Nepali Prime Minister to India in four years. Prime Minister Koirala is scheduled to start his 4-day visit on July 31 and the Prime Minister has been meeting with people of different sections and different walks of life prior to the visit.

Speaking at a programme organised by the Reproters’ Club in Kathmandu today, Prof. Harsha Narayan Dhaubdel said he has taken the visit as an attempt to warm up relations between the two countries. Prof. Dhaubdel is Nepal’s former ambassador to India.

The theme of the programme was, what Nepal should do to make the visit successful and fruitful.

Prof. Dhaubdel said the Prime Minister should fully stick to the directive principles of the constitution and the talks between the two Heads of Government should be on equal footing. He hoped that the visit will focus more on expansion of understandings between the two countries than on any kind of treaty.

He said that the Nepalese Prime Minister should return with certain conclusions on issues like regulation of border, Kalapani issue, encroachment of Nepalese land and the Laxmanpur barrage. However, he said Nepal should take all these issues, including the issue of 1950 Treaty, in a positive approach.

Another speaker, Dr. Bharat Prasad Dhital, also a former ambassador, said as this is a goodwill visit so there is no agenda. But as the visit is going to take place after four years it should deal on building a framework for the short-term and long-term relations between the two countries. He said the major points of discussion may be the management of the water resources, Kalapani, Laxmanpur barrage and border regulation.

He, however, said even if Nepal raises the issue of the 1950 treaty with India, we should not expect much from the visit regarding this. "At the most the visit could lay down some groundwork for the revision of the treaty."

Kamal Thapa, former foreign minister and spokesman of the RPP, said the visit should have only a limited objective of promoting understanding and renewing the relations, bringing the process of dialogues and discussions on pending issues from the 1950 treaty to Kalapani back to track, and dealing with recent issues such as the Laxmanpur barrage.

But he said one thing Prime Minister Koirala must raise before the Indian government is the growing threat of terrorism, which is afflicting a large part of the region.

He said there should not be a very high expectation regarding the visit and it should not also be taken as historical. But, he said, it is the responsibility of everyone to back and support the Prime Minister for a positive outcome of the visit.

Another speaker Shailendra Kumar Upadhyaya said although this will only be a goodwill visit, but the Prime Minister should give an impression that he is representing whole country. He, however, expressed his reservation about the timing of the visit even calling it as inauspicious because of several problems that are tormenting the country.

But all the speakers were unanimous that despite the complexities in their relations, Nepal and India should resolve all bilateral problems by themselves without the involvement of any other third party.

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