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The main opposition Nepali Congress lawmaker Rajendra Bajagain has sought information from the government about the condition of two youths of Gorkha who were arrested in Tibet, autonomous region of China.

Speaking at a Parliament meeting on Tuesday, lawmaker Bajagain said that he had got information that the Tibet police called Rapke Lama and Karma Cheden Lama of Lama Gaun, Chumanubri Rural Municipality-7, Gorkha to Tibet and took them under control one-and-a-half month ago.

Annapurna Post, the sister publication of The Annapurna Express, on June 9 had published the news about the arrest of two youths of Gorkha in Tibet.

After the news was published, lawmaker Bajagain of Gorkha urged the government to find out the whereabouts of the duo.

The Chinese government had closed Muladhyajan, the border point between Gorkha and Tibet, for the past five years.

It has been learnt that the two youths were arrested by calling them in the border even though the border crossing is closed.

Saying that the reason behind the arrest has not been known yet, Bajagain through the Speaker urged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to take initiatives to find out their whereabouts and release them.

“Rapke Lama and Karma Cheden Lama of Chumanubri Rural Municipality-7, Gorkha got a call from Tibet, autonomous region of China, one-and-a-half month ago. The Chinese administration had asked to call them. They were urged to come to the Tibet border. They went to Tibet. And they were apprehended there,” he said, adding, “The Nepal government has no knowledge about it. What is their status? Whether they were alive or not. I would like to draw the attention of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs towards the incident and urge the government to take initiatives to search for them.”

President Ram Chandra Paudel is leaving for Switzerland today to attend the inaugural Forum of the Global Coalition for Social Justice that will take place during the High-level Segment of the 112th Session of the International Labor Conference.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has shared in a press statement that President Paudel will address the inaugural Forum of the Global Coalition for Social Justice on June 13.

Paudel is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his Swiss counterpart Viola Amherd on June 12.

Similarly, President Paudel will leave Geneva for Berlin on June 15 for an official visit to Germany at the invitation of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier.

Paudel is scheduled to hold official talks with his German counterpart on June 17, the Ministry added.

The President's spouse Sabita Paudel will accompany the President during the visit. P

resident's Foreign Affairs Expert Dr Suresh Chandra Chalise, Secretary at the Office of the President, Foreign Affairs Secretary and Nepal's Ambassadors to Switzerland and Germany are the other members of the delegation.

The President is scheduled to return home on June 19.

Wrapping up his official visit to India, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has returned home this evening.

Upon arrival at the VVIP lounge of Tribhuvan International Airport, the Prime Minister was welcomed by Speaker Devraj Ghimire, National Assembly Chair Narayan Dahal, Deputy Prime Ministers, Ministers, MPs, Heads of Security Agencies and high-ranking officials of the Government of Nepal.

A contingent of the Nepal Army also offered a guard of honor to Prime Minister Dahal.

The Prime Minister had left for New Delhi on Sunday afternoon leading the Nepali delegation to attend the swearing-in ceremony of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi.

After the swearing-in ceremony, Prime Minister Dahal also held a brief meeting with his counterpart Modi and paid a courtesy call on the President of India Droupadi Murmu today.

During the meetings, various aspects of Nepal-India relations were discussed, according to the Prime Minister's Secretariat.

Prime Minister Dahal was accompanied by his daughter Ganga Dahal, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Padam Giri, Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal and other high-ranking government officials.

Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal Torun Dramdal paid a courtesy call on Speaker Devraj Ghimire.

During the meeting held at the office of Speaker in Singha Durbar on Monday, they discussed various issues including relations between the two countries and development cooperation.

On the occasion, Speaker Ghimire shared that high-level political leadership and diplomatic-level visits have been exchanged while there is remarkable collaboration at the people-level relations, investment, trade and tourism sectors since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1973.

"Nepal has given high-priority to the relation with Norway as its development partner", he mentioned, adding the activities carried out by Norwegian government in the sector of renewable energy, education and good governance are useful for Nepal.

The Speaker explained that the campaign of sustainable development, peace and stability has now been launched in Nepal after a long political transitional period.

Similarly, Norwegian Ambassador Dramdal said though diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in 1973, there were friendly relations between Nepal and Norway since 1950.

She underlined that Norway had provided around 35 million US dollar worth of support in different sectors of Nepal.

Recalling that high-level visits are being held from time to time between the two countries, the Ambassador mentioned that a parliamentary committee related to Foreign Affairs and Defence of Norway is scheduled to visit Nepal in coming September. 

Speaker Ghimire shared that Nepal-Norway Parliamentary Friendship Group has been formed in Parliament of Nepal and expressed the belief that Nepal's visit of parliamentary committee related to Foreign Affairs and Defence of Norway would take parliamentary exchange to a new height.