Nepal Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal “Prachanda” is visiting India and plans to discuss long-term power trade issues with Indian leaders. Prachanda hopes to resolve the “bottleneck” in power trade, which would make Nepal a favorable market for its surplus energy. He will discuss this issue with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other leaders during his four-day visit. This is Prachanda’s first bilateral visit abroad since taking office in December 2022.

Prachanda believes that if Nepal cannot find the right market for energy after production starts, then big investments won’t come. He is confident that this issue will be sorted out during his visit and that Nepal will get a favorable market. Nepal recently approved India’s Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVN) Limited to develop a second hydropower project in the country.

Prachanda also hopes to create an atmosphere for tri-country power trade with India and Bangladesh. There has been an agreement in principle to supply 50 MW of power to Bangladesh through the Indian grid. The Prime Minister will also discuss matters relating to trade and transit, which has been pending for the past few years.

Prachanda plans to hold constructive dialogue with Indian leaders to address any problems between the two countries. He will also raise the issue of providing air routes to Nepal during the bilateral talks. His entourage includes several ministers, and they plan to discuss various outstanding matters, including the border issue.