Nepal Prime Minister K P Oli on Thursday said the main focus of his first visit to India, taking place in “complex and special circumstances”, is on building trust after differences cropped up in bilateral ties due to protests over the new Constitution.
Addressing a Press conference ahead of his six-day India visit, Oli said, “Our country will definitely benefit from my visit to India beginning from Friday and we won’t lose from
the visit.”
“To gain friendship is also a gain and we will get much more than that (from the visit),” the 63-year-old Communist leader said.
He said he has no specific agenda for the talks as the visit is taking place in “complex and special circumstances”. “The main focus of the visit will be to create favourable situation and to build trust,” Oli asserted.
During his visit, the two countries are expected to sign a number of pacts, mostly related to the areas on which agreement has been reached in the past, sources close to the premier said.
Among others, two MoUs — one on the $1 billion line of credit that India has already committed to Nepal during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit and another on USD 1 billion that India has pledged during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s trip here for the country’s post-earthquake reconstruction — will be signed during Oli’s visit, the sources said.
Responding to a question, Oli said India has already welcomed the amendments made in the Constitution by saying that it was a positive development.”We have followed all due processes while promulgating the Constitution and the document was endorsed with overwhelming majority votes in the Constituent Assembly. We need to clear some misunderstandings in our relations and the process of clearing misunderstanding has already begun,” he said.
Oli’s visit comes after a period of strain in ties over the protests by Madhesis, mostly of Indian-origin.
Nepal alleged that the blockade in its southern border with India was imposed by Indian authorities as they were backing the agitation led by Madhesis — a charge India vehemently denied.
The United Democratic Madhesi Front, the four-party alliance, officially announced withdrawal of their protests including the border blockade earlier this month.