Kathmandu: The summit conference scheduled to be held in Lumbini on March 11 and 12 for the welfare of children, development, and peace has been postponed.

The summit conference, organized by the Lumbini Provincial government and managed by the American organization ‘Lariats and Leaders,’ has been postponed.

A minister of the Lumbini Provincial government said to Nepalpage, “The summit conference cannot take place due to various reasons. It has now been postponed.”

The Lumbini Provincial government had allocated a budget of 16.5 million Nepali rupees for the summit conference. It was publicized that many distinguished personalities, including heads of state from various countries, former heads of states, and Nobel Prize winners, would attend the conference in Lumbini. Discussions were underway regarding the participation of the esteemed spiritual leader Dalai Lama, who resides in exile in India, among other distinguished guests.

This type of summit conference under the management of the organization ‘Lariats and Leaders’ has been held three times before. In the first summit conference held in India in 2016, Dalai Lama participated.

The Nepal Communist Party (UML) and the NCP – Maoist Center had raised questions about its appropriateness, citing the expenditure of billions in the name of an international non-governmental organization for the summit conference. In meetings of the parliamentary and provincial assemblies, lawmakers from the NCP – UML opposed the summit conference.

Even the CPN-Maoist Center, including Chief Minister Dilip Bahadur Chaudhary, expressed dissatisfaction, saying there was no coordination and consultation with coalition partners on the preparation for the summit conference.

With the formation of a new coalition government, including the UML, the postponement of the summit conference was inevitable. “The cabinet is scheduled for 11 am tomorrow, and an official decision on the postponement will be made then,” the source said.