All major Nepali and English broadsheet dailies published from Kathmandu on Sunday are focused on the meeting of Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Saturday. Likewise, they have discussed implications of the joint communiqué issued by the two countries on the occasion of Oli’s state visit and three other agreements that officials of two countries signed. Most of the newspapers illustrate discussions and agreements in the positive light, though their still question how much they will be implemented. The most highlighted are agreements signed to connect two countries via railway and waterway.
Few other political, sociocultural and economic issues have also made it to the front page.
Important
Oli, Modi promise better ties
Newspaper reports claim that Oli and Modi during their joint press conference said they were ready to take the historic bilateral ties to new heights. While Oli told media that India now would be a development partner for Nepal, Modi said people’s happiness, peace and prosperity with their mutual concerns hence his government was focused on these issues, according to Gorkhapatra.
Meanwhile, Nepal and India signed three agreements; one each on railway connectivity, water connectivity and agricultural cooperation, according to the reports. Business dailies Karobar and Abhiyan have multiple stories on economic aspects of these issues today.
Besides these three agreements, the two countries issued a 12-point joint communiqué highlighting achievements of cooperation between two countries and next steps of cooperation.
The Kathmandu Post, however, comments that resolution of the problem Nepalis are facing to exchange Indian banknotes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 after Modi’s 2016 November demonitation has not been mentioned in any of the papers; neither did the leaders discuss the issue face-to-face.
Oli also paid a courtesy call on Indian President Ramnath Kovind yesterday.
Experts applaud Oli for India trip
Annapurna Post and Rajdhani have published reports about experts’ and stakeholders’ opinions about the Prime Minister’s India visit. Annapurna Post says diplomats and foreign affairs experts term the visit ‘positive in overall’ though they stress the implementation of all part agreements signed with other countries including India. The quoted experts and former ambassadors are Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, Lok Raj Baral, Deep Kumar Upadhyay and Durgesh Man Singh.
Even the main opposition Nepali Congress has commented that the visit deserves a welcome if its achievements are for national interests. On the other hand, Mahantha Thakur-led Rastriya Janata Party Nepal is not happy with the trip as the two countries did not discuss constitution amendment in their agreements as well as the joint press conference attended by both the prime ministers.
Ignored
Motorists confused about embossed number plate installation
After the Supreme Court around a couple of months ago ordered the government not to continue with the distribution of embossed number places, more than 5,000 motorists are uncertain about how and when they will get it, reports Nepal Samacharpatra in its lead story.
The relatively new technology has been used for around 3,500 vehicles only across the country so far, according to the report. It is expected that the government is preparing to make new plates after naming the provinces so that the province can be including in the information, the report says.
Legal hurdle blocks laying foundation stone for Arun III
Few days ago it was reported that Prime Minister Oli and his Indian counterpart Modi were supposed to lay foundation stone for the Arun III Hydropower Project in Nepal on the sidelines of their meeting. However, it could not take place due to some legal problems in Nepal, according to Karobar.
Dahal not happy with govt performance
Rajdhani claims CPN-Maoist Centre Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal is not happy with the performance of government. It might mean a lot for Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli as Dahal’s party is the biggest partner in the business coalition and the two parties are trying to fix hurdles to ensure that their unification will take place soon.
Interesting
Number of cases per justice doubled in 10 years
Gorkhapatra anchor story for the day informs that a Supreme Court justice currently has to deal with as many cases as double what it used to be around 10 years ago. Further, the number of cases for each judge at high and district courts is three times what it to be then.
The findings were based on the annual report of Supreme Court submitted to the President recently.
