India should have cultural centre in Nepal: Congress MP By Sudeshna Sarkar, Indo-Asian News Service
Kathmandu, July 2 (IANS) India should have a cultural centre in Nepal to build on the strong bonds between the countries, says a visiting Indian MP. "We have cultural centres in places like Mauritius and London and yet we don't have one in Nepal with whom we share a common culture. It's shocking," Congress MP Eduardo Faleiro told IANS here. Faleiro, a former minister of state for external affairs who is on his first trip to Kathmandu where he also met the king, said though there was "great affection and very strong bonds" between the two neighbours, greater exchange of people was needed. "We give 80 percent of our attention to the U.S. and Pakistan," Faleiro said. "Apart from Pakistan, our other neighbours are in the background politically. We need greater awareness about their problems and strength." On the day the Indian embassy here announced that the Indian government would provide Rs.280 million to set up a polytechnic in memory of a late leftist leader, Faleiro said: "You can't make friends with people by giving them stuff. If you want to make friends, you have to touch their hearts and minds, and you can do it only through culture." He said he would take up the issue with the Indian government. Regarding his meeting with King Gyanendra, he said the monarch said Nepal was grateful to India for many things. He also quoted the king as saying that there was need for stability in Nepal and an end to the Maoist insurgency that has claimed about 7,000 lives since 1996. Faleiro, who also met Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa and Parliament Speaker Taranath Ranabhat, said as far as the Maoists were concerned, his party concurred with New Delhi's assessment that the Maoists in Nepal were terrorists. "We are against all forms of extremist activities, whether religious, political or ideological," he said. "Extremism has been the bane of South Asian countries, hampering economic development and economic well being of people, that's the real issue." --Indo-Asian News Service ########################################################################## # Send submissions for Goanet to [EMAIL PROTECTED] # # PLEASE remember to stay on-topic (related to Goa), and avoid top-posts # # More details on Goanet at http://joingoanet.shorturl.com/ # # Please keep your discussion/tone polite, to reflect respect to others # ##########################################################################
