KATHMANDU: Prime Minister (PM) KP Sharma Oli is set to visit the base camp of Annapurna I in Annapurna Rural Municipality-4 of Myagdi today.
According to his secretariat, Prime Minister Oli will depart for the base camp by helicopter at 9 a.m. to attend a special program marking the 75th anniversary of the first successful ascent of the 8,091-meter-high Annapurna I.
During the visit, the Prime Minister is scheduled to unveil statues and participate in commemorative events honoring the historic milestone.
He will be joined by Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey, French Ambassador to Nepal Virginie Corteval, and Minister of State for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Kham Bahadur Garbuja.
At the base camp, which lies at an altitude of 4,190 meters, Prime Minister Oli will be welcomed by Annapurna Rural Municipality Chairman Bharat Kumar Pun, Gandaki Province Tourism Board Chief Maniraj Lamichhane, Maurice Herzog Trekking campaigners Tej Gurung and Mathias Herzog, and Tanahun Gandaki Chairman Krishna Prasad Lamichhane, among others.
As part of the program, Prime Minister Oli is also scheduled to unveil half-length statues of Maurice Herzog, Louis Lachenal—the first climbers of Annapurna I—and Sonam Wangchuk Sherpa, the first Nepali to summit the peak. He will also inaugurate an open museum established at the base camp.
Following a brief stay of about 20 to 30 minutes at the base camp, the Prime Minister and his team are scheduled to participate in the main event of the Annapurna Diamond Festival, being held in Narchyang village, his secretariat confirmed.
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