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US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Afreen Akhtar arrived in Kathmandu on a two-day visit to Nepal on Monday. During her stay in Kathmandu, she will hold discussions with Nepal Army officials, the US Embassy said. Though the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) was endorsed by the Parliament, the State Partnership Program (SPP) remained controversial. Following which, the government said it would not participate in the scheme. The US, however, wants to implement the SPP in Nepal, according to a source. The source said that Akhtar will hold discussions with Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) Parshuram Sharma and high ranking officials on the SPP. This is the third high-level visit from the United States within three weeks and since the formation of a new government under CPN (Maoist Center) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal. Earlier on February 7, Samantha Power, administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), had arrived in Kathmandu. Before Power, US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland had visited Nepal.

The Government of Nepal has dispatched the first shipment of over 22 tons of relief materials containing medicines, medical equipment, warm clothing, and other basic essential items for the earthquake affected people of Turkey on Monday. The Government of Nepal has decided to send the relief materials as a gesture of solidarity in Turkey’s relief and recovery efforts following the devastating earthquakes that struck Türkiye on 06 February 2023. Earlier on 08 February 2023, Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr Bimala Rai Paudyal on a telephone conversation with her Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu extended heartfelt condolences to the people and Government of Turkey on the loss of precious lives and properties and expressed Nepal’s readiness to extend all possible support in solidarity with the people of Türkiye. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs would like to extend its sincere gratitude to all the concerned government agencies, private sector and humanitarian organizations for their generous support and the Turkish Airlines for its offer to transport the relief materials, read a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.

Indian Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra arrived in Kathmandu on a two-day official visit to Nepal on Monday. A four-member team led by Kwatra arrived in Kathmandu in a special flight of the Indian Air Force at the invitation of Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Poudel this morning. Nepal desk Chief at the Indian Foreign Ministry Joint Secretary Anuraj Srivastava (North) is also in the team. Foreign Secretary Poudel and Indian Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava among others welcomed the team at the Tribhuvan International Airport. According to a source, Kwatra, India’s former envoy to Nepal, is visiting Nepal to fix the date and agenda of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s India visit. This is the first stand-alone visit of the Foreign Secretary to Nepal since he assumed charge. During the visit, the two Foreign Secretaries will hold discussions on the entire range of multifaceted cooperation between India and Nepal.  

The Election Commission has decided to hold a by-election in Chitwan constituency-2 on April 23. A meeting of the Election Commission held on Sunday decided to hold the by-election for a member of the House of Representatives in Chitwan-2 as per Section 68 of the House of Representatives Act 2074, EC spokesperson Shaligram Sharma said. Rastriya Swatantra Party President Rabi Lamichhane was elected as a member of the House Representatives from Chitwan-2 in the November 20 elections. But, the Supreme Court annulled his status as a lawmaker saying that he didn’t have valid Nepali citizenship.