Kathmandu, April 25 -- This week, Nepal accorded the highest respect to a foreign leader when it hosted the emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, five years after it bestowed similar honour on Chinese President Xi Jinping when he came in October 2019.

The country even declared a public holiday on Tuesday in honour of the emir, and organised a special ceremony at the Tribhuvan International Airport upon his arrival from Dhaka, Bangladesh. President Ramchandra Paudel himself received the emir at the airport.

Given the emir's status as one of the richest heads of state and Qatar's position as among the top ten richest countries, Kathmandu had high expectations from the visit.

Also, during his Bangladesh visit, the emir signed so...