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Kathmandu: US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu has returned from Kathmandu after understanding the progress made in implementing the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project in Nepal. The MCC is scheduled to be implemented starting from August next year. 

During his one-day visit on Friday, Lu met with various Nepali officials, including Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Foreign Minister NP Saud, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, and CPN-UML Chair KP Sharma Oli. Lu expressed interest in Nepal’s level of readiness for the MCC implementation. 

Upon his arrival in Nepal, Lu’s initial meeting was with Deuba, who was the Prime Minister when the MCC was approved by Parliament. According to the Deuba Secretariat, Lu inquired about Nepal’s preparation for the implementation of the MCC. In response, Deuba reassured that there would be no obstacles in implementing the matter that had already been passed by the House. 

After meeting Deuba, Lu also held discussions with Foreign Minister Saud. A senior official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs mentioned that Minister Saud assured Lu that Nepal is fully prepared and there would be no issues with the MCC implementation. 

Quoting Lu’s statement, a source from Baluwatar said that Lu appreciated Nepal’s preparations and assured that the MCC is in Nepal’s best interest. In response, the Prime Minister stated, “Nepal is ready to implement the MCC.”

Biratnagar: Gagan Thapa, the General Secretary of the Nepali Congress, said that the leader of the parliamentary party will change once he reaches the required number of Members of Parliament (MPs). During a conversation with reporters in Biratnagar on Saturday, Thapa expressed his intention to move forward by changing the leader of the parliamentary party.

Thapa highlighted that the Constitution of the Congress Parliamentary Party includes a provision for changing the party leader. He stated, “Our party’s parliamentary party constitution allows for a change in leadership. In the past, we have witnessed instances where the leader of the parliamentary party was changed.” Thapa further explained, “I contested the leadership position with the belief that I should be the leader of the parliamentary party. Even now, I am capable of effectively managing the parliamentary party, based on the country’s needs. However, my previous attempt was unsuccessful due to lack of support from my colleagues. I will make another attempt when I feel that the support of my colleagues will give meaning to my efforts.”

Thapa also pointed out that Sher Bahadur Deuba, the current party leader, became the parliamentary leader during Girija Prasad Koirala’s leadership, as he garnered votes. Presently, Sher Bahadur Deuba serves as the leader of the Congress parliamentary party, having secured 64 votes in the parliamentary party election. In contrast, Thapa, who competed against Deuba, had received only 25 votes

The National Assembly endorsed the Bill to Raise National Debt.

In today's meeting of the National Assembly, Finance Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat presented a proposal to return the Bill, received from the House of Representatives (HoR) with suggestions, to HoR, the lower house of the Federal Parliament, without making any amendment to it. The proposal was passed by majority.

In the course of clause-wise discussion on the Bill, lawmakers had raised questions on the usefulness of such a type of debt at a time when the percentage of public debt is rising as compared to gross domestic product.

The NA will meet next at 1 pm on July 17.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire has directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to inform the House regarding the government's efforts so far for controlling the lumpy skin disease in cattle.

Lawmakers had called the attention of the government before this that the farmers were facing problems and bearing losses as thousands of cattle died due to the disease that has spread throughout the country as an epidemic.

The Speaker issued the directive to the Agriculture Ministry to brief the Parliament about the efforts being made by the government to control the epidemic.