Leading an 11-member Nepali delegation, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala left for Jakarta, Indonesia on Monday.
Deputy Prime Ministers Bamdev Gautam and Prakash Man Singh, Chairman of the Constituent Assembly Subas Chandra Nembang saw off the Prime Minister at the Tribhuwan International Airport.
The Prime Minister is scheduled to attend the Asian-African Summit to be held on 22-23 April in Jakarta and a commemorative event that will be organized on 24 April in Bandung on the occasion of the 60th Anniversary of 1955 Asian-African Conference and the 10th Anniversary of the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both the Summit and the commemorative event are going to be held under the theme of “Strengthening South-South Cooperation to promote World Peace and Prosperity”. Prime Minister will deliver his address to the Summit on this theme, the MoFA said in a press statement. In Jakarta and Bandung, Prime Minister will also hold bilateral meetings with the leaders of neighbouring countries, SAARC and ASEAN regions attending the Summit Meeting and Commemorative Event.
According to a source at the MoFA Prime Minister Koirala is likely to hold meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. On 22 April, the Prime Minister will attend dinner hosted by President of the Republic of Indonesia Joko Widodo in honour of Heads of State or Government attending the Summit Meeting and Commemorative Event.
Besides attending the Commemorative Event, the Prime Minister will also participate in the ‘Historical Walk’ from Savoy Homan Hotel to Gedung Merdeka’ on 24 April in Bandung. “It may be noted that the Summit Meeting and the Commemorative Event will be preceded by Senior Officials’ Meeting and Ministerial Meeting held on Sunday and Monday respectively,” the MoFA said.
Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and Shanker Das Bairagi, Officiating Foreign Secretary, have already reached Jakarta in this connection. Both of them will join the Prime Minister as members of the Nepalese delegation to the Summit Meeting and the Commemorative Event. Nepalese delegation include PM’s Foreign Relations Advisor Dr. Dinesh Bhattarai, Durga Prasad Bhattarai, Permanent Representative of Nepal to the UN in New York; Tara Prasad Pokharel, Joint Secretary at the MoFA, Chief of Protocol Arjun Kant Mainali among others.
On his way back to home from Indonesia Prime Minister will make a stopover in the Thai capital Bangkok. The prime minister will return to Kathmandu on April 28, the MoFA said.