Jimmy Carter arrives in Nepal to hold talks

Former US president Jimmy Carter, left, shakes hand with Nepalese President Ram Baran Yadav during a meeting at the president’s office in Shital Niwas, in Kathmandu yesterday. Carter has arrived in Kathmandu on four-day visit.

AFP/Kathmandu

Former US president Jimmy Carter yesterday arrived in Nepal on a four-day visit, hoping to find ways to encourage democracy in the South Asian nation, which is undergoing political transition.

Carter, 88, will encourage political parties to hold delayed elections and to move forward on reconciliation from the civil war.

The former president will then head to Myanmar to meet political leaders and civil society as the erstwhile military regime pushes ahead with reforms that have included an easing of press censorship and the release of prisoners.

Carter’s visit comes amid growing concern about religious violence in Myanmar, also known as Burma, where at least 40 people have died in anti-Muslim riots led by members of the Buddhist majority.

Since leaving the White House in 1981, Carter has maintained a rigorous schedule of supporting peace efforts and anti-poverty programmes around the world. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.