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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is com­ing to Nepal, in what will be his fourth visit, to attend the fourth summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIM­STEC) being held in Kathman­du on August 30 and 31. This regional body is comprised of four countries from South Asia (Bhutan, India, Nepal and Sri Lanka) and two countries from South-East Asia (Myan­mar and Thailand).According to a Foreign Ministry source, along with Modi, there is a high chance that the executive heads of all seven countries will participate. During the last Nepal-India Eminent Persons Groups meeting in Kathmandu, the Indian EPG members had also informed that Modi would be coming to Kathmandu for the BIMSTEC summit.

The source said Nepal’s emphasis during the summit will be on coming up with a BIMSTEC charter, which the member countries have been unable to agree on in the 20 years of the organiza­tion’s existence.

Kathmandu: Ruling party leaders including Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and leaders of main opposition Nepali Congress held a meeting on May 23. In the meet at the Prime Minister's residence, Baluwatar, matters related to contemporary political issues including formation of parliamentary committee, parliament regulation and interim work procedure and government's policy and programs were discussed, the Prime Minster Office shared. On the occasion, PM Oli urged the main opposition party leaders to move ahead on the agenda of formulating parliament regulation on consensus.

Ruling party leaders present on the occasion were CPN Chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', Spokesperson Narayan Kaji Shrestha, General Secretary Bishnu Poudel na leader Subas Chandra Nembang. Likewise, leaders present on behalf of the opposition were NC President Sher Bahadur Deuba, senior leader Ram Chandra Poudel, general-secretary duo Shashank Koirala and Purna Bahadur Khadka, Krishna Prasad Sitaula, Bijaya Kumar Gachchahdar and Dr Minendra Rijal. RSS

Lahan: Naya Shakti Party Nepal’s coordinator Baburam Bhattarai has warned that the country may see another conflict if the constitu­tion is not amended. Speaking at a press meet, Bhattarai said the Mad­hesi people were dissatisfied with the constitution, and their demand for amending it must be heard. He also accused the Madhes-based leaders of being opportunists, sug­gesting that they should respect people’s mandate for amending the constitution. RSS

Kathmandu: Nepali Congress President and former Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said the opposition party in the parliament had a significant role to play in strengthening democracy. Speaking at a party program, he expressed hope that his party would be more effective in the opposition than it was in the government. RSS