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President Ram Chandra Paudel has called the winter session of the Parliament.

He summoned the meeting of both Houses of the Parliament at 1 pm on January 31 (Friday) as per the recommendation of the Cabinet meeting held on Monday, the President’s Office spokesperson Shailaja Regmi Bhattarai informed.

“As per Article 93 (1) of the Constitution of Nepal, President Paudel has called the session of both Houses of the federal Parliament at the International Conference Center in New Baneshwor at 1:00 pm on January 31,” according to the Office of the President.

President Ram Chandra Paudel has extended felicitation to Donald J Trump upon his assumption of the office as the 47th US President.

Taking to social media (X) today, President Paudel said, "My warm felicitations to His Excellency Mr Donald J Trump for assuming the office as the 47th President of the United States of America and my best wishes for the successful tenure."

He expressed hope that the cordial relations, subsisting between Nepal and the United States, would be further deepened and expanded in the days to come.

Foreign Minister Arjun Rana Deuba today held a telephonic conversation with her Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty, requesting the latter for an initiation to free Nepali hostage Bipin Joshi who has been held by Hamas in Gaza for 15 months.

Following a ceasefire deal between the government of Israel and Hamas, the Hamas has started freeing hostages beginning Sunday.

The Foreign Minister urged Egypt, which is facilitating the ceasefire negotiations, to prioritize Joshi’s release in the first phase.

The Minister who is presently in Bangkok for her medical checkup made the call from there.

In response, the Egyptian Minister assured that he would direct Egypt’s facilitators to work toward Joshi’s release.

A few days ago, Rana also spoke with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi, and Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar, requesting their intervention in setting the Nepali hostage free in the initial phase.

Khulaifi plays a key role in the Israel-Hamas peace talks.

The Nepali government has been actively engaged in diplomatic efforts since last year, seeking Bipin’s release.

The Foreign Minister has been appealing through various international and regional forums, as well as the United Nations, to facilitate for ensuring Bipin's release.

The government has recommended President Ram Chandra Paudel to convene a meeting of both the Houses of the Federal Parliament on January 31.

A Cabinet meeting held on Monday decided to recommend President Paudel to call the Parliament meeting at 1 pm on January 31 (Friday).

Prior to calling the meeting, Prime Minister KP Sharma had held a meeting with Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire.

During the meeting, they discussed convening the winter session of the Parliament.

Opposition parties have been mounting pressure on the government to call the Parliament session at the earliest.

Issuing a joint statement on Friday, the opposition parties had urged the government to call the Parliament session as soon as possible.