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President Ram Chandra Paudel authenticated the Citizenship Bill on Wednesday. President Paudel certified the bill formulated to amend the Nepal Citizenship Act 2063 this afternoon “President Paudel authenticated the Citizenship Bill today,” the President’s legal advisor Baburam Kunwar said. Earlier on August 15, President Bidya Devi Bhandari had returned the Bill to the Parliament for a review. The current government had urged President Paudel to authenticate the Bill. A Cabinet meeting held on May 26 had decided to urge the President to certify the Citizenship Bill endorsed by both the Houses.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal today paid a courtesy call on President Ram Chandra Paudel at the latter's office in Shital Niwas. The meeting focused on the Prime Minister's India visit beginning today, according to President's press advisor Kiran Pokharel. The Prime Minister is learnt to have briefed the Head-of-the-State about his four-day official visit to India. Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Poudyal was also present in the meeting. Prime Minister Dahal is scheduled to fly to New Delhi from Tribhuvan International Airport at 1:25 pm today and will return home on June 3.    

A high-level Chinese official called on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Wednesday. A delegation led by Wang Xiaohui, Secretary at the Sichuan Provincial Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, met Prime Minister Dahal, who is also the Chairman of CPN (Maoist Center), in Baluwatar this morning. During the meeting, they discussed matters related to bilateral mutual interests and relationship between the two parties. According to a source, Secretary Wang invited the prime minister to visit China. A 14-member Chinese team had arrived in Kathmandu on a Singapore Airlines flight on Tuesday. It has been said that they will also hold discussions with government officials and the business community. The prime minister’s meeting with the top Chinese leader prior to embarking on a four-day visit to India has been taken meaningfully. Though Dahal, who was appointed as the prime minister from the alliance led by the CPN-UML on December 25, was preparing to go China after receiving an invitation from the northern neighbor for the ‘Boao Forum for Asia’ from March 28 to March 31, he canceled the trip at the last hour after a new Nepali Congress-Maoist Center coalition was formed. While responding to the questions raised by lawmakers in the Parliament, Prime Minister Dahal said that he did not attend the Boao Forum due to the Chinese ambassador. Later, Chinese Ambassador Chen Song held a meeting with the prime minister and objected to his remarks. Prime Minister Dahal is leaving for India today.  

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is embarking on a four-day official visit to India on Wednesday. This is his first official visit to the southern neighbor following the formation of the coalition government. The delegation includes Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet and Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala. During his visit, PM Dahal will hold a discussion with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on bilateral interests, said Saud. Other issues on the table are electricity trade, construction of a transmission line, and the inauguration of an integrated security checkpoint. The issues of promoting Indian investment in the energy and hydropower sector of Nepal, trade and transit and air entry routes will also be discussed, he said. The premiers of both the countries are scheduled to sit down and conclude the issue of air entry routes for Nepal. PM Dahal is scheduled to fly at 1:25 pm today, and his delegation includes government officials, entrepreneurs and media-persons. Upon landing in India, the PM is scheduled to attend some important meetings this evening itself, it has been said. According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, the PM will hold delegation-level talks with his Indian counterpart Modi at Hyderabad House on June 1. Following this, a joint press meet will be organized. It has been learnt that they will have some agreements and memorandums of understanding. The Prime Minister of India will host a luncheon in honor of the PM of Nepal and his delegation. During the visit, PM Dahal will pay a courtesy call on the President of India, Droupadi Murmu, and Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar. He is also scheduled to address the Nepal-India Business Summit in New Delhi co-organized by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Indian Industry, and interact with business leaders of both the countries. The PM will also interact with the Nepali community in India on the occasion of a welcome reception hosted by the Ambassador of Nepal to India, Shankar Prasad Sharma. Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ramesh Rijal said that during the visit, an agreement will be signed to renew the transit treaty and to expand the additional petroleum pipelines. Similarly, there will be an agreement on the construction of the Siliguri Charali pipeline and terminal tank, the pipeline up to Lothar of Amlekhganj and the storage terminal tank. Likewise, PM Dahal is slated to lay the foundation stone for the integrated check post in Bhairahawa, and co-inaugurate the integrated check post in Nepalgunj with the PM of India Modi, he said. The issues of the construction of a dry port in Dodhara Chandani, the export of jute and opening a fertilizer industry in Nepal after importing natural gas will also be discussed, according to him. PM Dahal will return home on June 3.