He said this during his meeting with Chairman of UCPN (Maoist) Pushpa Kamal Dahal in New Delhi, Tuesday. It is learnt from sources in the Indian capital that Dr Singh said India is willing to extend all out support to Nepal in the upcoming polls.[break]
Touching upon the political changes in Nepal, Singh noted that Nepal has experienced many changes lately. He lauded Dahal´s leadership role in Nepal´s peace process and congratulated him on the successful integration of former Maoist combatants.
Emerging from his 45-minute meeting with Dr Singh, Dahal told Republica that on the economic cooperation front, the Indian prime minister was positive, describing Dahal´s proposals as realistic, and saying that a new relationship between India and Nepal could be built through a pragmatic approach.
Likewise, Dahal also held consultations with Indian Foreign Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday. During the meeting, the two discussed all possibilities of strengthening economic cooperation and the stability factor in Nepal.
Khurshid, according to sources here, told Dahal that "India too is learning from its experiences" with Nepal and expressed willingness to support Nepal´s democratic process.
The two, however, did not discuss the trilateral cooperation mechanism, which Dahal has proposed amongst India, China and Nepal.
Asked to comment, Dahal said that although trilateral cooperation was not discussed in his meetings, he has proposed to take the Lumbini Development Project and some hydro-power projects ahead with both India and China on board.
"It should now be a fresh start on economic engagement with India and China, and Prime Minister Singh is positive in this regard," Dahal said.
On the federalism issue, Dahal said that although there were some queries in Beijing in this regard, in India "there are no serious concerns," adding, "India has taken this issue (of federal restructuring) in an easy manner."
Dahal terms visit "highly successful"
Terming his visit to India highly successful, Dahal has said that he has been able to work on confidence building between India and his party through his current visit to New Delhi.
He has claimed that India too has accepted the transformation that his party is going through and the path which was decided during its recently concluded general convention.
Stating that the hospitality extended to him by the Indian side was nothing less than that given to a head of state, Dahal said, "I have been invited here not only as chairperson of the High Level Political Mechanism but also as a representative of Nepal."
He said he felt that he now had "added responsibilities" towards the country and he wanted to work to foster a conducive environment for the polls.
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