Nepal Maoist PM to mix business, pleasure in China

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's new Maoist Prime Minister Prachanda left for Beijing on Saturday to participate in the Olympics closing ceremony, his first foreign trip that he is expected to also use to seek help to rebuild his war-torn nation.

Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who still uses his war nom de guerre Prachanda, which means "fierce", was elected to head a disparate coalition last week after months of political squabbling.

Prachanda, who supports free market reforms, will meet Chinese President Hu Jintao, and is expected to discuss ways to resuscitate his country ravaged by a decade of civil war that killed 13,000 people and devastated the economy, officials said.

A rebel who once led a guerrilla army in the jungles and mountains of Nepal, Prachanda reiterated his commitment to democracy and private investment on Saturday.

"We'll follow multi-party competition, periodic elections, human rights and press freedom," Prachanda said in a televised address.

"The new government will follow the public-private partnership model for economic development and promote industrial peace, create jobs and ensure smooth supply of consumer goods."

Foreign investment would be encouraged in areas of "national priority", he said, reading from a Nepali text at his fortified office, a picture of Mount Everest hanging on a wall behind him.

The Maoists signed a landmark peace deal in 2006 after the government agreed to abolish the country's 239-year-old monarchy, declare Nepal a republic and hold election to a special assembly that would write a new constitution.

But analysts say the immediate challenge facing Prachanda's government was the rehabilitation of more than 19,000 former Maoist fighters for a lasting peace.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Krittivas Mukherjee)

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