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State Minister for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi welcomed Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal at the New Delhi-based Indira Gandhi International Airport on Wednesday. Prime Minister Dahal had left for India on a four-day official visit at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi this afternoon. He will hold a bilateral meeting with Modi at the Hyderabad House on Thursday. The prime minister will call on Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar on Thursday and President Droupadi Murmu on Friday. Earlier, the then Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was welcomed by foreign secretary and Sher Bahadur Deuba by state minister for tourism.    

The Janata Samajbadi Party (JSP) pulled out of the Koshi Province government on Wednesday. The party also withdrew the support extended to the government. Nirmala Limbu of the JSP was the Health Minister in the CPN-UML-led government. She was the only lawmaker to represent the JSP in the Province Assembly. Limbu participated in the government led by UML leader Hikmat Kumar Karki on January 9. Following the decision of the Province Committee meeting of the JSP, she lost her ministerial post. JSP leader Rakam Chemjong said that the meeting of the party held on Wednesday decided to recall its minister and also decided to withdraw the support extended to the government. In the 93-member Province Assembly of Koshi Province, UML has 40 lawmakers, Nepali Congress 29, CPN (Maoist Center) 13 (including speaker), Rastriya Prajatantra Party six, CPN (Unified Socialist) four and Janata Samajbadi Party has one lawmaker. Forty-seven lawmakers are needed to form the government in the province. But there are 46 lawmakers of the UML and the RPP in the province.  

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has left for India on a four-day official visit at the invitation of his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi on Wednesday. Leading a jumbo delegation, PM Dahal left for the southern neighbor from the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) this afternoon. They will land at the New Delhi-based Indira Gandhi International Airport. House of Representatives Speaker Deveraj Ghimire, National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina and ministers among others had reached the TIA to bid farewell to Prime Minister Dahal. Foreign Minister NP Saud, Finance Minister Prakash Saran Mahat, Energy Minister Shakti Bahadur Basnet, Transport Minister Prakash Jwala and Industry Minister Ramesh Rijal among others are in the delegation. During his visit, PM Dahal will hold a discussion with his Indian counterpart Modi on bilateral interests, said Saud. Other issues on the table are electricity trade, construction of transmission lines, 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. 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 courtesy calls 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.  

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.