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At Gandak, Mahendra made it clear that he intends to be treated as an equal and not a dependent. He told Nehru and a crowd of 100,000 Indians that friendship "on the basis of parity" can only be "mutually beneficial." Next week King Mahendra plans to make a state visit to West Germany, which is discussing several possible aid projects for Nepal; on his way home, he will stop off in Pakistan for talks with President Ayub Khan. Mahendra, who calls his policy one of strict nonalignment, claims that his Foreign Minister Tulsi Giri actually invented the word. Be that as it may, few other nations have made it pay such handsome royalties.