Kathmandu (AsiaNews) – India has pledged a US $250 million soft line of credit, and 80,000 tonnes in food, as well as new road and air links. This follows a meeting between Nepali President Ram Baran Yadav and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The two countries also signed an agreement to build a polytechnic and a new convention hall near the India-Nepal border.
During the talks, Baran Yadav and Singh discussed Nepal’s difficult political and economic situation. The Indian leader reassured his guest that India would do everything to help ensure its neighbour’s stability at a time when it is still without a constitution and is governed by a coalition government. In May 2009, then Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda resigned over the failure to incorporate Maoist militias in the armed forces.
The meeting with the Indian prime Minister is Mr Baran Yadav’s first event in his visit to India, which is scheduled to end on Saturday with a visit to Indian President Prativa Patil.
This is the Nepali president’s first visit to India since the end of the monarchy in 2008. It comes at a crucial time in Indo-Nepali relations, especially after the visit by Nepali Prime Minister Madhav Kumar to China last December. On that occasion, Nepal recognised Tibet as an integral part of China, unleashing protests by the Indian government, which has been trying to resist Chinese economic expansion into the Himalaya region.
