Kathmandu July 4 : US Assistant Secretary of State Donald Lu is scheduled to visit Nepal. According to diplomatic sources, it has been confirmed that Lu will visit Nepal within this month of July. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda is preparing to visit China before assistant state secretary Lu arrives in Nepal. Prime Minister Prachanda is preparing for an official visit to China in September. It was revealed during a program held in Pokhara last Saturday that preparations for his visit to China were underway.

Lu is a powerful Assistant Secretary in the US Department of State. He has previously visited Nepal twice. He had visited Nepal during the implementation phase of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project, which had been passed by the Nepalese Parliament, and during a series of visits from the US. After that, he also visited Nepal to hold discussions on participating in the US-proposed State Partnership Program (SPP) .

Lu had discussions with then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Foreign Minister Dr. Narayan Khadka during his two-day visit to Nepal. He discussed how to collaborate with representatives of Nepal’s civil society in human rights protection, as well as Nepal-US trade relations and the marginalized community in the border areas.

Prior to the approval of the MCC project by the Nepalese Parliament on 27 February 2022 . Lu had discussed various issues related to Nepal-US relations, including the contemporary global situation and the MCC, with then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Chairman of the Maoist Center Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda.

After the approval of the MCC, there were concerns that Nepal might reconsider the project upon Lu’s arrival in Nepal. In this context, Lu had a telephone conversation with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, Chairman of the UML, KP Sharma Oli, and Chairman of the Maoist Center, Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda, on the same day,10 February 2022 .

About two weeks after the conversation, on 27th February 2022, Nepal’s Parliament approved the MCC with a declarative statement. During the press conference, Maoist Center Chairman Prachanda mentioned that the approval of the MCC had prevented the country from facing a disaster.

Prachanda’s expression was criticized. It was reported that he gave a threatening statement in the style of not approving the MCC without discussions with the party leaders. China also commented on Lu’s telephone conversation and additional remarks, saying that the US was using “forced diplomacy.” Both sides faced opposition in Nepal regarding the MCC in a situation where discussions were underway.

Who is Donald Lu ?

Donald Lu, who has served in the US Department of State for more than 30 years, was appointed Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs in September 2021.

On April 23, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated Lu to be the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs. Lu’s nomination was examined by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on July 28, 2021. The committee favorably reported it to the Senate floor on August 4, 2021. He was confirmed via voice vote by the entire Senate on September 13, 2021, and sworn in on September 15, 2021

Prior to his appointment, he had served as the US Ambassador to Albania from 2015 to 2018 and to Kyrgyzstan from 2018 to 2021. Before becoming Ambassador to Albania, he served as Deputy Assistant Coordinator of the Control Bureau at the US Department of State in Western Africa.

According to Indian media report Imran Khan claimed that Donald Lu was allegedly involved in the “foreign conspiracy” to overthrow his government through a no-confidence vote.

Beleaguered Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has claimed that assistant secretary of state for south and central Asian affairs Donald Lu was allegedly involved in the “foreign conspiracy” to overthrow his government through a no-confidence vote and had sent a threatening message to him through Pakistan’s ambassador to the US Asad Majeed. “The US had sent a threatening message through Pakistan’s envoy,” Dawn quoting Imran Khan reported.