Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' reached Uganda's capital Kampala on Wednesday to participate in the 19th summit of the Non-Aligned Movement in Uganda.
Among those who officially welcomed him there on behalf of the Nepalis was Dr. Sudhir Ruparelia.
Despite having a name similar to Nepali, he is an industrialist of Indian origin. Since the government appointed him as an honorary consul for Nepal in 2076 BS, he is also the person who works for Nepal and Nepali people.
Therefore, he also participated in welcoming the team including Prime Minister Prachanda.
More interestingly, Ruparelia owns the venue where the Non-Aligned Nations Summit is being held.
The conference is being held at the Speke Resort and Convention Center in Kampala, where the participating heads of state and government are staying. The Nepali delegation led by Prime Minister Prachanda is also staying at the same resort.
An interaction program of non-resident Nepalis with Prime Minister Prachanda was organized at the same conference center on Thursday at Ruparelia's special initiative. In the meeting, Prime Minister Prachanda said that his visit to Uganda was the first and he expressed his happiness to interact with the Nepali diaspora residing there.
Prachanda said, "This is my first visit to Uganda. It is a pleasure to meet and talk with you. You raised some issues. They are important. Recently, some important decisions were made about visit visas. Some time ago, all the ambassadors were called to discuss the solution to the immigration problem."
Foreign Minister NP Saud, Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal, and other officials were also present in the program.
Rama Aryal, the president of the Non-Resident Nepali Association, Uganda, said that she was very happy to meet the leaders of her country, including the Prime Minister, and felt a sense of guardianship.
According to Forbes Magazine, Ruparelia is the richest person in Uganda. He has a net worth of 1 billion 200 million dollars.
Being the founder of Ruparelia Group, he has more than 200 commercial establishments operating across the country, including hotels and clubs. He has built this business empire over a period of about four decades.
Recently, the number of Nepalis in Uganda is increasing. When any official work is to be done through the embassy, it is necessary to contact the Nepali embassy in Egypt, which is very far away. It has been very comfortable for the Nepalis after Ruparelia was appointed as an honorary consul, the non-resident Nepali community has said.
