Nepal PM Oli makes new coalition agreement public

Kathmandu [Nepal], July 21 : Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, while tabling the trust motion in the parliament, made the seven-point agreement reached with the Nepali Congress public.
Oli, also the chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal--Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), read out the contents of the agreement that was sealed past midnight on July 2. The Prime Minister also said that the agreement between the two major parties was part of the two largest parties' efforts to address the country's pressing issues.
"We (CPN-UML and Nepali Congress) compete in our ideologies, but there are instances of collaboration between the Congress and the UML. This is a continuation of that collaboration. We have agreed to work together to protect national interests, control corruption, improve governance, expedite development activities, and ensure political stability, in accordance with the public desire," Oli said, addressing the lower house of the federal parliament.
The prime minister has made the details of the midnight deal public three weeks after it was signed by Oli and Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba. Leaders from Congress and other parties were raising questions over keeping the deal secret for weeks.
According to Oli, the seven points of the agreement reached between the Congress and the UML at midnight of July 1 are as follows:
1. Form a national consensus government under Article 76(2) of the constitution, involving other political parties as well, to protect national interests, control corruption, improve governance, accelerate development activities, and ensure political stability.
2. The national consensus government will prioritise reviewing the strengths, weaknesses, and complexities observed in the course of implementing the constitution, and will focus on amending the constitution and enacting related laws in order to ensure political stability.
3. To end the prolonged economic slowdown, prepare a reliable business environment, and rejuvenate economic activities. This includes encouraging both domestic and foreign investments to create sufficient and dignified employment opportunities within the country.
4. CPN-UML Chairman KP Sharma Oli will lead the national consensus government for the first two years and Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba will lead the election government until elections in November-December 2027.
5. To prepare common minimum programmes to protect the national interest, to ensure good governance by ending corruption, to determine the basis of the national consensus government and to run the government on the same basis.
6. The national consensus government will ensure equal participation of the two leading political parties, while also including other political parties in the government.
7. Provincial governments will be formed as per the spirit and intent of the national consensus government, and efforts will be made to accelerate development activities at the provincial and local levels as per the public sentiment.