K P Oli in India LIVE UPDATES: The Nepal Prime Minister and his wife met PM Narendra Modi at Rashtrapati Bhawan for ceremonial reception. (Express Photo by Praveen Jain)
Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli arrived in New Delhi on Friday on a three-day visit to India. The visiting leader was accorded a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhavan this morning, where he was welcomed by President Ram Nath Kovind and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Raj Ghat. Oli’s visit is in line with the tradition of a Nepalese premier visiting India on his first overseas trip.
Oli and Modi held bilateral talks this afternoon. He also met top Indian leaders including External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. He will meet Home Minister Rajnath Singh later this evening.
Ahead of his visit, Oli had said his visit would mainly focus on implementing past agreements signed between Nepal and India, rather than signing new ones. “We want to maintain trustful (ties) with India and clear any suspicion in the bilateral relations,” Oli had said.
Also read | Soft hands and hard bargaining: What to watch in Modi-Oli meeting
Oli took charge as Nepal’s prime minister for the second time in February.
Highlights
Oli to focus on implementing past agreements
Pacts related to agriculture, research and development, education and training, exploring the possibility of inland water navigation upto Indian ports from Nepal, and expansion of Indian rail upto Kathmandu from the countries’ border have reportedly been agreed by the two sides.
Nepal PM KP Oli receives ceremonial reception
Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli receives ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. Oli had told reporters at the Nepalese Embassy, "Nepal wants to be close with every neighbour and every friend."
Ahead of the high-level conclave which is expected to begin shortly, PM Modi meets Nepal PM KP Oli at Hyderabad House in New Delhi. Oli and Modi will push a button to virtually lay the foundation stone of the 900 MW Arun III hydroelectric project that the Sutlej Jal Vikas Nigam will build at a cost of $ 1.5 billion. The Prime Ministers will also inaugurate the integrated checkpost at Birgunj-Raxaul, the main entry-exit point on the open India-Nepal border. An agreement on moving bulk cargo through other transit points like Biratnagar, Bhairahwa and Nepalgunj, is also expected to be signed — other South Asian countries too will be allowed to use these transit posts to trade with Nepal.
Oli had earlier on Friday met Congress President Rahul Gandhi and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed "various dimensions of Nepal-India relations", according to the Nepalese Embassy in New Delhi.
Both domestic politics and regional dynamics have changed appreciably since Oli last visited New Delhi in 2016 when Nepal was under an undeclared border blockade by India. India felt slighted that Nepal’s major political parties, including Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal-Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), had failed to take New Delhi in confidence about the content of the new constitution. Nepal’s leaders, on the other hand, insisted that it was Nepal’s internal affair.
Pacts related to agriculture, research and development, education and training, exploring the possibility of inland water navigation upto Indian ports from Nepal, and expansion of Indian rail upto Kathmandu from the countries’ border have reportedly been agreed by the two sides.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to tell his Nepali counterpart K P Oli that he can award as many dam projects as he likes to China, but India will not be able to buy the energy produced. A senior official had earlier told to the Indian Express that Oli’s three-day visit will be couched in the niceties of diplomatic prose, but there will be no denying “India’s red lines.”
One of the key takeaways from Saturday’s bilateral meeting is going to pertain to the railways network, which will connect Indian cities with Kathmandu and beyond. A pact in this regard is expected to be signed, apart from some others pertaining to agriculture research, education and training. Read Opinion | Mutual respect is the key
Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli called on President Ram Nath Kovind. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his readiness to revise and update the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship between India and Nepal, and is likely to convey this to the visiting Prime Minister of Nepal K P Oli during their conversations, top sources have told The Indian Express.
Nepal Prime Minister KP Oli receives ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in New Delhi. Oli had told reporters at the Nepalese Embassy, "Nepal wants to be close with every neighbour and every friend."