Blake, who arrived in Kathmandu on Monday morning for a two-day visit to Nepal, had visited UML headquarters Balkhu and NC´s headquarters in Sanepa for the meetings in the afternoon. [break]
He had inquired about the latest political situation in Nepal after the dissolution of the Constituent Assembly (CA) without promulgating a new statute and efforts being made by political parties to arrive at consensus.
According to Milan Raj Tuladhar, who is a member of CPN-UML International Department and foreign relations advisor to Khanal, Blake expressed happiness at the positive developments in Nepal and readiness of the US government to support the ongoing peace process in Nepal.
While stating that the US government is also looking forward to increased business with Nepal, Blake also said that it is up to the private sectors to assess the situation in Nepal and suggested that political stability and industrial peace will be instrumental in attracting new investments.
Expressing happiness at the resumption of Peace Corps Volunteers and the recent US decision to take the Maoists off the US terrorist watch list, Chairman Khanal had briefed Blake about the negotiations taking place among parties to resolve the political deadlock. He said that UML was ready to go for either CA revival or fresh election for ending the impasse.
Blake, who was accompanied by new US ambassador to Nepal, Peter W Bodde, also inquired about the ongoing political deadlock in the country and inquired about NC´s position to resolve the problems.
Paudel expressed confidence that the ongoing negotiations among NC, UML and the Maoists would yield a positive result to the find way out of the impasse, according NC Secretary Pradip Parajuli.
Among others, Blake is scheduled to meet UCPN (Maoist) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday morning and organize a press conference later in the afternoon before wrapping up his two-day visit.
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