Menon starts peace tour of Nepal today

NEW DELHI: Foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon will visit Nepal on Saturday and convey the message that Kathmandu needs to move forward on the peace process and that New Delhi is ready to extend any help towards this end. Mr Menon, who arrives in Nepal on Saturday, is set to meet prime minister Madhav Kumar Nepal, president Ram Baran Yadav, vice-president Parmananda Jha, foreign minister Sujata Koirala and home minister Bhim Bahadur Rawal. Mr Menon is also scheduled to hold talks with his Nepalese counterpart Gyanchandra Acharya on a range of issues.

Even though the CPN-UML has come to power with a coalition of 22 parties, it has failed to move forward on forming a government with Cabinet expansion held up by internal bickering and the Maoists resisting all attempts by the ruling party to get them on board.

In this context, India is concerned that the peace process has come to a grinding halt with little progress on drafting the Constitution. New Delhi is convinced that progress can be made on all these issues only through a broad political consensus. Mr Menon is expected to convey India���s concerns and views on how to take the process forward. Mr Menon���s visit to Nepal precedes a visit by the Nepalese prime minister to India which is expected to take place soon.

The new government, which was formed after the Maoists withdrew from the government, has been beset with political problems from the beginning. The Nepalese prime minister is also facing problem in expanding his Cabinet with the Terai parties pushing for plum posts. For instance, the Madhesi Janadhikar Forum, the biggest Terai party, has refused to participate in the government till its members get top ministerial positions. Since taking over, Mr Nepal has been able to induct only 10 ministers into the Cabinet. The new dispensation in Nepal has good ties with India and it has not been shy of seeking help from India even though the Maoists have continued to criticise any move that is linked to India.

Nepal���s foreign minister Sujata Koirala, daughter of former prime minister Girija Prasad Koirala, has asked for India���s help to move the peace process forward. ���We need India���s cooperation and support to move the peace process forward. The Nepal government wants to strengthen bilateral relations with neighbouring countries, especially India,��� Ms Koirala said.