SOME FOOD FOR TALK: Nepal’s Prime Minister Prachanda (extreme right) with CPM leader Sitaram Yechury at a lunch hosted by
JD (S) chief Sharad Yadav (centre) in New Delhi on Tuesday. — Tribune
photo by Mukesh Aggarwal |
New Delhi, September 16
Nepal’s Maoist Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ says he can now return home happily. On his maiden visit to India after assuming office, Prachanda has got a firm assurance from the Indian leadership that New Delhi was ready to meet the needs of his Himalayan nation on all fronts.
India and Nepal have also agreed in principle to review the 1950 bilateral treaty of peace and friendship to bring it in line with the present day realities. The new Maoist government in Nepal has often described the treaty as an agreement between ‘two unequals’.
This came at a meeting Prachanda had with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last evening at which the Indian leader also announced a Rs 20 crore immediate flood relief assistance for Nepal.
Another significant outcome of the visit is that the two countries have agreed to sign a bilateral extradition treaty soon.
Nepal foreign minister Upendra Yadav told reporters today that the extradition treaty was being discussed at the level of senior officials at present. It would soon be finalised and signed.
At a separate press conference, Indian foreign secretary Shiv Shanker Menon announced that the two countries had reactivated bilateral mechanisms to deal with various issues in bilateral ties. The treaty would be reviewed and updated, if necessary, at the level of the foreign secretaries.
Prachanda, rounding up his engagements in the Indian
capital, met a galaxy of Opposition leaders at the residence of Janata Dal (U) president Sharad Yadav. “I am going back to Nepal as a satisfied person. I will tell Nepali citizens back home that a new era has dawned,” the 54-year-old leader said.
“We want all bilateral agreements between India and Nepal to be reviewed in the light of new international scenario. These treaties were signed long back but now the geo-political situation has changed,” he is understood to have impressed upon the Indian leadership.
However, it was quite clear that the two countries have differences on how to go about reviewing the treaty, that allows for free movement of people and goods between them and a close relationship and collaboration on matters of defence and foreign affairs.
While India values the treaty as deflecting the influence of China, it has been unpopular in many segments of Nepal, which often regards it as a breach of its sovereignty.
Menon emphasised that the two countries would have to see what required to be changed in the treaty. However, the Nepalese minister was very categorical in stating that the treaty would be upgraded and revised.
When reporters repeatedly asked him to specify the portions of the treaty about which Nepal had objections, Yadav preferred to remain quiet. He, however, denied that the Nepalese delegation had brought the draft of the revised treaty for the Indian side to study.
The Indian foreign secretary said the two countries would also reactivate mechanisms at the levels of home secretaries, water resources secretaries and home secretaries.
