World News | China says ‘great importance’ to ties with Nepal as it congratulates new PM Prachanda

BEIJING, Dec. 26 (PTI) — China on Monday congratulated Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” who was sworn in as Nepal’s new prime minister, as Beijing weighed its options following political drama in the Himalayan nation, which has taken a highly strategic stake in recent years. .

On Monday, Prachanda was sworn in as Nepal’s prime minister for the third time. The 68-year-old former guerrilla leader, who unexpectedly quit the five-party ruling coalition in Nepal’s Congress led by outgoing Prime Minister Sherbahadur Deuba and made a claim for the prime ministership, was President Bidya Devi Bhandari has named Nepal’s new prime minister ahead of a deadline set by the president that expires on Sunday.

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“We noticed that the general election in Nepal was smooth and successful. We congratulate Prachanda on his appointment as the new prime minister of Nepal,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Mao Ning told a news conference here.

“As a traditional friend and neighbor of Nepal, China attaches great importance to its relations with Nepal. We are willing to work with the new government of Nepal to expand and deepen friendly exchanges and cooperation in various fields, and jointly build the “Belt and Road” with high quality, so as to contribute to the friendship and development between China and Nepal from generation to generation.” The prosperous strategic partnership has injected new impetus and delivered good results. It will bring more benefits to the people of our two countries,” she said.

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Nepal’s new government, formed with the backing of former prime minister KP Sharma Oli, known for his pro-China stance, has drawn widespread attention. Prachanda, who toppled Oli’s government last year, has also had close ideological ties to China in the past.

Mao Zedong said: “We believe that with the joint efforts of the Nepalese government and people, and through the consultation and coordination of various political parties and political forces, Nepal will continue to maintain stability and social and economic development.”

Prachanda and CPN-UML chair Oli, each other’s fiercest critics until Saturday, joined forces on Sunday to strike a power-sharing deal under which Oli would take over as prime minister for the second half of his term.

Prachanda and Oli had a similar arrangement in the previous administration. However, it fell after Oli reneged on the agreement and remained prime minister, prompting Prachanda to join the opposition to oust him.

Prachanda’s Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center) won just 32 seats in parliament, compared with 89 for Deuba’s Nepal Congress and 78 for Oli’s Communist Party of Nepal (United Marxist-Leninist). Still the dominant party, casting a shadow over Nepal’s parliament. The stability of the new Government in the landlocked country.

Observers say it remains to be seen how Prachanda manages to follow the balanced foreign policy pursued by the previous government led by Deuba, maintaining close ties with Nepal’s big neighbors India and China.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)