By Prensa Latina,
New Delhi : The Indian government committed itself on Monday to continuing to support Nepal in the future, regardless of the political changes made in that Himalayan republic.
After meeting with Nepalese Prime Minister, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, leader of the Maoist Communist Party (MCP-M), Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee said the two countries need to work together to give bilateral relations a new dimension.
Mukherjee pointed out that New Delhi backs the strengthening of the republican system in Nepal, and urged the two countries to boost economic cooperation and strengthen cultural ties.
Until May 2008, when the Constituent Assembly decreed the Democratic Federal Republic, Nepal was under the rule of an absolute monarchy, “in fact, it was the last Hindu kingdom in the world.”
In April’s elections, the MCP-M won a majority of votes and the right to head the incumbent coalition government.
During his four-day visit to India, Dahal met with President Pratibha Patil, Vice President Hameed Ansari and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
He also met with opposition leader Lal Krishna Advani, candidate to the post of prime minister for the conservative Bharatiya Janata Party.
Dahal arrived in New Delhi on Sunday, when he met with Indian entrepreneurs and briefed them about his government’s economic and commercial plans.
According to local media, Dahal, who is accompanied by several ministers, will review the 1950 Indian-Nepalese Peace and Friendship Treaty, which rules bilateral relations, and the 1954 Kosi Agreement.