Foreign Secy to visit Nepal tomorrow

Key to the discussions will be the speeding up of the political process in Nepal,especially the drafting of the new Constitution,for which May 2010 has been set as the deadline. But,according to sources though the deadline was set in May 2008,there has been no tangible movement on the Constitution so far. Menon agenda will be to convince the political leadership in Kathmandu to expedite the peace process by building consensus amongst political parties.

The Foreign Secretary will also be looking to push forward several pending bilateral issues,many of which were agreed to during Prachandas visit to India last September. Menons discussion will focus on the extradition treatywhich has been waiting for Nepals political leaderships approval for the past two years and the exchange of maps to counter allegations of encroachments. A review of the 1950 India-Nepal friendship treaty will also be taken up with the leaders.