KATHMANDU, July 6: Foreign Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara, upon returning from his recent state visit to India, said that the southern neighbor has congratulated Nepal for successfully holding the local polls in the country.
Informing the parliament about his India visit on Wednesday, Mahara said that Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj extended best wishes on behalf of India for holding local polls in the country. The government has concluded local polls in six out of seven provinces of the country and is scheduled to hold the polls in Province-2 on September 18.
“I also briefed the Indian foreign minister about the current political situation of Nepal and she congratulated Nepal for concluding the local polls,” said Mahara.
Earlier, India was silent while most of the international community welcomed the government's decision to hold local polls after 20 years in the country. India has been insisting on bringing all the political parties on board to address the grievances of Madhes. One of the major Madhes-based parties boycotted the local polls protesting against the government decision to hold the polls without amending the constitution.
Minister Mahara said that he informed his Indian counterpart about the wish of Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba to visit India during the meeting.
Usually, Nepal's prime minister visits India after assuming office only upon the invitation of India. But Deuba, who assumed office on June 7, is yet to receive invitation from the Indian side.
“Embassies of both countries will finalized the date of the prime minister's visit and make other necessary preparations,” Mahara said in the parliament.
During his three-day India visit, Mahara also discussed about other bilateral issues between Nepal and India. According to the minister, he discussed about joint projects between India and Nepal, effects of new tax system of India on Nepali, exchanging demonetized Indian currency stocked in Nepal among other issues.
Minister Mahara said he also talked with Swaraj about the upcoming BIMESTIC meeting scheduled for August 10-11 in Nepal. He informed the parliament that the Indian foreign minister is likely to visit Nepal for the meeting.
Mahara visited India last week upon the invitation of his Indian counterpart Swaraj, less than a month after he assumed office.
During his India stay Mahara also held interaction with 37 residential ambassadors of various countries in Indian capital Delhi. “I informed them about foreign policy of Nepal and our plan to contest on UN Human Right Council so I sought their support as well,” Mahara said.
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