Nepal Deputy PM Nidhi to visit India on Thursday, meets envoy

From Shirish B Pradhan Kathmandu, Aug 16 (PTI) Nepal’s Deputy Prime MinisterBimlendra Nidhi will visit India on Thursday as the specialenvoy of Prime Minister Prachanda, days after the new Nepalesegovernment sent an emissary to its northern neighbour China. The move to send emissaries to India and China is said tobe Nepal’s bid to woo its two giant neighbors and firm upbilateral ties after the formation of the new government. Nidhi, who also holds the Home Affairs portfolio, willbegin his two-day visit on Thursday. He is likely to discuss matters relating to the proposedvisit to Nepal by President Pranab Mukherjee and NepalesePresident Bidya Bhandari’s visit to India, according toofficial sources. Ahead of the visit, Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Raetoday met Nidhi at his office in Singhdurbar Secretariat. During the meeting, they discussed matters relating toNepal-India relations, mutual interest and "other relevanttopics", according to a statement issued by the Home Ministry. Rae assured Nidhi of India’s continued support to Nepal inareas including security and implementation of developmentprojects. Prachanda, the Maoist chief, assumed office earlier thismonth for his second term as prime minister. Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Krishna BahadurMahara yesterday left for Beijing with an invitation toChinese President Xi Jinping to visit Nepal. Mahara’s two-day trip to China is the first high-levelvisit by a Nepalese official to a foreign country after theformation of the Prachanda government. PTI SBP ABH AKJABH