The Hindu : Nepal King arrives

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jun 24, 2002

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Nepal King arrives

By Our Special Correspondent

The Minister of State for Railways, Digvijay Singh, with the Nepal King Gyanendra and Queen Komal Rajya Laxmi at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Sunday. - Photo: V. Sudershan

NEW DELHI JUNE 23. Gyanendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev, King of Nepal, arrived here today on a week-long state visit amidst hopes on both sides of renewing the traditional bonds of friendship between the two countries.

In his first visit abroad, King Gyanendra, crowned under tragic circumstances in Kathmandu last June, will be looking forward to establishing political rapport with India. The visit comes at a very difficult moment in the history of Nepal, which is reeling under the threat of Maoist insurgency, deepening internal political divisions and a rapidly deteriorating economy. In his interaction with the Indian leaders, he will be looking for sensitivity and understanding of the current dilemmas in his country. Nepal is also looking for international assistance in coping with the Maoist threat and delivering rapid developmental aid to the needy areas.

Informed sources here say the political challenge before India and Nepal is to find ways to work with the unique geographic factors that bind them and act together on a forward-looking agenda of bilateral cooperation.

Going beyond protocol, the Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, hosted a special private dinner for King Gyanendra tonight. The President, K.R. Narayanan, will hold an official banquet on Monday night.

King Gyanendra, accompanied by Queen Komal, drove straight to Rashtrapati Bhavan after his arrival at the Indira Gandhi International Airport. He will receive a ceremonial welcome on Monday morning. Besides substantive talks with Mr. Narayanan and Mr. Vajpayee, King Gyanendra will have an opportunity to interact with a broad spectrum of the Indian elite in the next few days. All the key Cabinet colleagues of Mr. Vajpayee will call on him. The King will hold talks with the leader of Opposition, Sonia Gandhi. He will meet the business community on Tuesday. He will also meet the former Prime Ministers, P.V. Narasimha Rao, Inder Kumar Gujral and Chandra Shekhar. On Wednesday, he will head to Kolkata and Guwahati before returning home on Friday.

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