Former Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has reportedly traveled to Nepal following the swearing-in of newly elected leftist President Anura Kumara Dissanayake in Colombo.
The Nepalese news outlet Khabarhub broke the story, revealing the details of Rajapaksa’s trip.
According to the report, Anura Dissanayake, who garnered only 3% of the vote in the 2019 presidential election, has now secured a majority mandate. Meanwhile, Rajapaksa, who fled Sri Lanka two years ago, arrived in Kathmandu via Thimphu, Bhutan’s capital.
Rajapaksa is reportedly staying as a guest of billionaire businessman Binod Chaudhary at the Miwantha Hotel in Jamsikhel. He landed in Kathmandu on Monday morning, traveling with his wife on Druk Air flight KB 400.
After a two-day stay in Kathmandu, the couple is scheduled to travel to Bharatpur on Wednesday. They are expected to spend three days in Chitwan before visiting Lumbini and returning to Kathmandu next Sunday.
Rajapaksa’s departure from Sri Lanka two years ago followed the country’s deep financial crisis, during which he fled on a military plane. Initially landing in the Maldives, he then traveled to Singapore and Thailand amid widespread protests and public outrage. Facing a collapsing economy and growing discontent, Rajapaksa abdicated and appointed Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe as Acting President while in Thailand.
Binod Chaudhary, the Nepali businessman hosting Rajapaksa, is known for his extensive business empire, which includes hotels and banks in Sri Lanka and various ventures across South Asia, including India and the Maldives.
