Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal left for a weeklong visit to Italy on Saturday.

During the visit, the prime minister will attend the United Nations Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS+2) to be held in Rome, Italy from July 24-26.

Prime Minister Dahal is accompanied by his daughter Ganga Dahal, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Beduram Bhusal, Member of the National Planning Commission Jay Kant Raut and other senior government officials.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister Dahal will address the official opening session of UNFSS+2 on Monday, in the capacity of the chair of the LDC Group. He will also address a Plenary Session on the agenda of School Meals, and Food System Transformation in Practice on Tuesday.

Dahal is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with high-level dignitaries of the UN, including the director general of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, the executive director of the World Food Programme, and the president of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, among others on the sideline of the event.

Likewise, the prime minister will also interact with the Nepali community in Italy during a programme being organised by the Non-Resident Nepali Association, Italy.

Dahal will return home on July 28.

Meanwhile, the Office of the President said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka will look after the prime minister’s responsibilities in his absence. Defence Minister Khadka is second in rank in the Cabinet.

President Ramchandra Paudel assigned the responsibility to Khadka at Prime Minister Dahal’s recommendation, reads a statement issued by the Office of the President.