Prachanda flying to Beijing to bring China & India closer on Nepal issue

Nepal’s senior communist leader Puspa Kamal Dahal aka “Prachanda’ is flying to Beijing on Sunday on official invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping with a five member delegation.

Speaking to a select few journalist on the eve of his visit on Saturday, Prachanda said that his visit will aim to bring China and India together on developing Nepal. ” The trend of instigating one neighbor towards another should be stopped. Nepal can benefit from its both neighbors, only if we work closely with each other,” Prachanda said echoing the statement of his deputy Baburam Bhattarai.

Bhattarai had proposed that Nepal act as a bridge between both nations when the Chinese Prime Minister had visited Nepal last January.

Elaborating on his visit, Prachanda laid stress on the need to garner support from neighboring nations to hold Constituent Assembly elections and said that his visit will focus on garnering economic support from China.

“Discussions will be held on political issues, but politics are Nepal’s internal affairs. So, my visit will basically center on economic cooperation,” Prachanda said elaborating that extension of Chinese railway till Kathmandu, extension of ports between China and Nepal, transformation of Kathmandu into a metro city and development of herbs will highlight the discussion.

On the occasion, Prachanda clarified that he is visiting China as the Coordinator of the High Level Political Mechanism that presently governs the Interim Election Council and added that he represents the interests of all political parties and the government.

He said that the agenda of his meetings have been endorsed by major political party leaders and the interim cabinet.

In China Prachanda is scheduled to address a conference of Nepal and Chinese intellectuals in Chengdu on the first day and than head to Beijing where he will hold consultations with Chinese President, Prime Minister among other influential Chinese leaders.

After that Prachanda will visit Chinese industrial cities and than head to Hong Kong from where he will return back home.