Nepal president visits India; signs four agreements
World
Nepal president visits India; signs four agreements
Nepal's visiting President Ram Baran Yadav on Tuesday called on Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi. The two nations also signed four agreements. Yadav, who is in India on a four-day maiden state visit, is accompanied by a 27-member delegation which includes Nepal's tourism minister Sharad Singh Bhandari and several senior officials. An agreement on New Air Service was signed between the two countries. Three memorandums of understandings are one on development of railway infrastructure at five points along India-Nepal border, development of Nepal Bharat Maitri Polytechnic at Hetauda Makwanpur district and establishment of Nepal Bharat Maitri Sabha Griha, Birgunj. Five new railway lines, once constructed, would provide better access to the Madhes (Terai) region of the Himalayan country. Yadav earlier in the day also met Indian Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna. President Yadav also visited the Mahatma Gandhi memorial at Rajghat to pay tributes to India's iconic freedom fighter and founder of non-violent movement in the world. This is Yadav's first foreign visit since assuming office as president, after the country was declared a republic in May 2008.His visit had been delayed for some months, as there was no functional Vice President to take over his charge during Yadav's absence.
