 "KP Sharma Oli")
Nepal is not playing the "China card" against India, Prime Minister K P Oli said today, on the eve of his fence-mending India visit during which many agreements are expected to be signed.
Addressing a press conference ahead of his maiden six-day India visit, Oli refuted allegations that he played the "China card" against India in the wake of the border blockade due to protests by Madhesis that caused severe shortage of essential goods, including petrol and cooking gas, in the country.
"It is not true that Nepal has played any card against India," he told reporters at his office.
"I won't play a card against any country," Prime Minister Oli said, adding in a lighter vein that, "I don't know how to play a card."
"There is no question of playing a card for one against the other. We want to develop friendly relations with both our great neighbours on the basis of mutual respect and benefit," 63-year-old Oli said.
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Earlier some reports had said that Oli could visit China before India due to hiccups in Indo-Nepal ties over the Madhesi issue. Amid strain in Indo-Nepal ties, China was seen by analysts as getting closer to Nepal especially by providing essential goods to the crisis-hit nation.
Oli has also said that he will visit China within a month after his India trip as part of his government's policy to enhance cooperation with immediate neighbours.
"Our country will definitely benefit from my visit to India beginning from Friday and we won't lose from the visit," the Prime Minister said today.
During Oli's visit, the two countries are expected to sign a number of pacts, mostly related to the areas on which agreement has been reached in the past, sources close to the premier said.
Two MoUs -- one on the USD 1 billion line of credit that India has already committed to Nepal during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit and another on USD 1 billion that India has pledged during External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj's trip here for the country's post-earthquake reconstruction -- will be signed during Oli's visit, the sources said.
Oli, during the press interaction, said, "To gain friendship is also a gain and we will get much more than that (from the visit)."
He said he has no specific agenda for the talks as the visit is taking place in very complex and special circumstances.
"The main focus of the visit will be to create favourable situation and to build trust," Oli asserted.
Responding to a question, Oli said India has already
welcomed the amendments made in the Constitution by saying that it was a positive development.
"We have followed all due processes while promulgating the Constitution and the document was endorsed with overwhelming majority votes in the constituent assembly. We need to clear some misunderstandings in our relations and the process of clearing misunderstanding has already begun," Oli said.
He said both India and Nepal have attached high importance to his upcoming visit.
"There are high expectations from the visit in the country," Oli said.
During the visit, the two sides are also expected to reach an agreement regarding establishment of a police academy in Nepal with the assistance of India and the construction of postal roads under the Indian economic assistances.
Hydro power development is another area on which the two countries are expected to reach an agreement, sources said.
An MoU is to be signed between the Sangeet Natak Akademi of India and the Nepal Sangeet Tatha Natya Pragya Pratisthan of Nepal for cultural exchanges between the two countries.
During the visit, sources said India will announce exporting 80 MW of electricity to Nepal through the recently installed Muzaffarpur-Dhalkebar 400 kv transmission line to ease the current 13-hour-load shedding the Himalayan nation is facing.
Oli's visit comes after a period of strain in ties over the protests by Madhesis.
The Nepalese Premier had earlier announced that he would not visit India unless the border blockade was lifted.
Nepal alleged that the blockade in its southern border with India was imposed by Indian authorities as they were backing the agitation led by Madhesis -- a charge India vehemently denied.
The United Democratic Madhesi Front, the four-party alliance, officially announced withdrawal of their protests including the border blockade earlier this month.
The front had launched an indefinite agitation protesting against the new Constitution promulgated on September 20 last year, saying it failed to address their concerns over representation and homeland.
