PM Oli off to Thailand to attend BIMSTEC Summit (With photos)

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has embarked on an official visit to Thailand from April 1 to 5 at the cordial invitation of his Thai counterpart Paetongtarn Shinawatra.

Deputy Prime Minister Prakash Man Singh, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Minister for Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey, government senior officials and the chief of security agencies had been at the VVIP lounge of Tribhuvan International Airport to see off the Prime Minister.

Prior to this, a contingent of the Nepali Army offered a guard of honour to the Prime Minister.

During the first-ever official visit of the Prime Minister of Nepal to the Kingdom of Thailand, the Prime Minister is scheduled to hold talks with his Thai counterpart and discuss various areas of bilateral relations between Nepal and Thailand.

Following the bilateral engagements, he will lead a 21-member Nepali delegation to the Sixth Summit of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral, Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) to be hosted by Thailand on April 4 and will address the Summit the same day.

On April 3, he will take part in a dinner to be oranised in honour of the heads of the nations and the heads of the governments attending the BIMSTEC Summit.

PM Oli is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his counterparts from BIMSTEC member states on the sidelines of the Summit.

Despite long-standing friendly relations between Nepal and Thailand, the official visit by the Head of Government of Nepal to Thailand has not taken place yet.

The then Prime Minister of Thailand Prem Tinsulanonda had visited Nepal in 1983.  Tinsulanonda died in 2019.

The Prime Minister’s entourage includes his spouse Radhika Shakya, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Arzu Rana Deuba, Bishnu Prasad Rimal, the Chief Political Advisor to the Prime Minister, Dr Yuba Raj Khatiwada, Chief Secretary Eak Narayan Aryal, high-ranking government officials, and representatives from the private sector and media persons.

The Prime Minister will return home on April 5.

The Cabinet on March 24 had endorsed the schedule of the Prime Minister’s visit to Thailand.

W