CM Pokharel, Indian Ambassador meet in Pokhara

Acting Indian Ambassador to Nepal Namge C. Khampa met with Gandaki Chief Minister Krishnachandra Nepali Pokhrel at Chief Minister's Office on Tuesday.

Khampa arrived in Pokhara during the monitoring and inauguration of the scheme run by the Indian Embassy in Kaski and Mustang. During the meeting, Chief Minister Pokharel said that it was not necessary to comment on the relations between Nepal and India and stressed the need to increase cooperation for the prosperity of the states and the country.

He said that the state was ready to cooperate with India through the federal government in the construction of eight kilometres of the Dumkiwas-Triveni section of the Korla-Triveni road connecting India to the south from the Chinese border in the north. Recalling that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to upgrade the Girija Prasad Koirala Respiratory Center in Tanahu during his visit to Nepal, the government of India is anticipated to help run a medical college there, according to Chief Minister Pokharel.

The Chief Minister said that employment could be promoted in the state by promoting tourist areas like Pokhara as well as protecting Phewa Lake. He stated that the business sector in Pokhara will be expanded once the Pokhara International Airport is operational and that structures should be built accordingly.

Acting Indian Ambassador Khampa said that India was ready to cooperate for the prosperity of Gandaki. If the Indian government has been providing support in the areas of roads, tourism infrastructure, and transportation inside the state, and if specifics of the scheme have been obtained, he said, more work may be done. He expressed his commitment to continue providing scholarships to Nepali students as well as buses, hospitals and ambulances for schools and campuses. Of the 52 schemes implemented through the Indian Embassy across the state, only 11 are operational in Kaski.

The meeting was attended by state finance minister Ramji Prasad Baral, law, communications and state assembly affairs minister Bindukumar Thapa and chief secretary Ravilal Panthal.