Nepal President Bidya Devi Bhandari’s visit to India has been very fruitful and significant, Foreign Affairs Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat said yesterday.
“This visit has been fruitful in enhancing the relations and goodwill between the two countries,” said Mahat, who was a member of the high-level delegation accompanying President Bhandari during her state visit to India.
The minister, who returned to Kathmandu yesterday, was speaking to reporters at Tribhuvan International Airport.
He said India’s President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders of various political parties, during their meetings with President Bhandari, highlighted the significance of Nepal-India ties and extended best wishes to Nepal in its efforts towards implementing the constitution and holding of local elections.
“They have also expressed the commitment to support Nepal in its development endeavours,” Mahat was cited by Himalayan Times as saying.
To a query on President Bhandari being received at the airport by an Indian minister of state, Mahat made it clear that there was nothing lacking in the honour the government of India accorded to Nepal’s president.
“The guard of honour that India gave to Nepal’s President at Rashtrapati Bhawan is an important thing. The Indian president, prime minister and distinguished personalities were present on the occasion,” he said.
Mahat explained that President Bhandari went to the airport when Indian President Pranab Mukherjee arrived on a state visit to Nepal as Nepal has the tradition of presenting the guard of honour at the airport itself.
The minister for foreign affairs returned home yesterday after the formal programmes and high-level meetings scheduled for the president on the first two days of her visit in New Delhi concluded on Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, President Bhandari, who is on a five-day state visit to India, wrapped up her meetings and programmes in the Indian capital and left for Rajkot, the fourth largest city in the state of Gujarat yesterday.
In Gujarat, the president will pay homage at the Somnath temple and other pilgrimage sites.
She will also attend a luncheon to be hosted by Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani in her honour.
President Bhandari is scheduled to visit Odisha today.
Prakash Sharan Mahat: u201cThis visit has been fruitful in enhancing the relations and goodwill between the two countries.u201d
