Nepal PM Prachanda will embark on US and China visit in September

Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda will visit the US and China, towards the end of September.

Prachanda will first visit the US to participate in the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations, which is scheduled to take place towards the third week of September.

After his address to the UN General Assembly, Prachanda will leave for China, according to informed sources close to the prime minister.

Next, Prachanda will embark on a visit to Nepal's northern neighbour China as part of the Himalayan nation's delegation in the 19th Asian Games. He will meet high-ranking Chinese officials during the visit.

The prime minister will likely leave Kathmandu for New York on September 20, said PM's Press Coordinator Surya Kiran Sharma. However, the Foreign Ministry is yet to make a formal announcement of the visits.

Earlier this month, Foreign Minister N P Saud said the prime minister would pay an official visit to China towards the third or fourth week of September.

"Preparations are almost complete for the prime minister's upcoming visit to China," Saud said while speaking at a Ministry of Foreign Affairs programme.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been busy preparing for the two visits.

Prachanda assumed office in December last year. The 68-year-old Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Centre (CPN-MC) leader visited India in June as his first foreign trip after assuming office for the third time.