Nepal PM to visit India in the third week of September

Kathmandu, Sep 3 (UNI) Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal will pay an official visit to India at the invitation of Dr Manmohan Singh in the third week of September.

"I am going to attend the U N General Assembly. I will travel to India before that," Nepal Prime Minister who is known as comrade Prachand told the BBC Nepali service.

Though he did not specify the date, officials here said the visit would be before September 20. Prachand is scheduled to attend the U N session and will stop over in London to inaugurate the Nepali trade festival there.

Prachand visited China immediately after he became the Prime Minister of Nepal said on return from China his first political visit would be to India. There are reports that India was unhappy about his visit to China as Dr Singh was the first head of the state to congratulate Prachand and invite him to visit India within half an hour of his election to the post.

Maoist leader CP Gajurel had told the BBC that India was unhappy about the visit.

Asked about the 1950 Nepal India treaty, Prachand said, "Nepal has become a republic passing through big changes since the Rana regime. So, the 1950 treaty should be clearly reviewed. It cannot be kept in the present form." When asked which provision you want to change, Prachand said: "I am engaged in consultations on my visit to India soon. So, I do not want to reply to your question at this point." In reply to a question would you visit China first if there was no olympic game he said: "Let's not get into hypothetical questions.

Since China is our neighbour and since we could not attend the inaugural ceremony of the Olympics, I went there for the closing ceremony. Anyway, it would not have been easier for me to go there first if there had been no Olympic." "I would be lying if I said no" he said in reply to a question that China is the land of your inspiration Mao Zedong, you must have harbored wishes to travel there.

UNI XC NC AS1413