Kathmandu, Oct. 14
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Ishwor Pokharel said on Monday that the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping had ignited a new hope and enthusiasm in Nepal.
"President Xi’s state visit has taken the relations to historically newer heights. Now, Nepal-China relations have a special meaning at the regional and global levels," he said while addressing the Silk Road Youth Forum (SRYF)'s China-Nepal Youth Cooperation Conference in the Capital.
He said that Nepal was long been identified as a landlocked country but in reality, it was locked by a country. The visit of the Chinese President and accords signed during his entourage has changed this, he said.
"Xi announced that Nepal will become a land-linked nation and China will support in that drive," said Pokharel. "Connectivity has received a formal address in the bilateral agenda."
“As a representative of Nepali people I would like to say that we were confused for a long time regarding development of Nepali society, but President Xi's visit has fuelled our aspirations,” he said.
He said that Nepal did not prepare any shopping list for the visit of the Chinese President and just wanted to welcome President Xi as a good friend of the country.
"We all know that China and Nepal have millennia old relations which have endured for ages without any bruises. The dimension of relation is expanded from the government to people to people level," he said.
He said that conference like this would help exchange ideas, knowledge and expertise between the countries which would be instrumental for the development of Nepali youths who were dynamic, hardworking, brave and creative but were not getting enough opportunities to utilise their skills and knowledge.
DPM Pokharel said that there were no problems in bilateral relations between the two neighbours even during various regional and global upheavals.
"We supported each other in the international and multilateral forums. We have always tried to understand and support each other. Nepal wants to learn from Chinese learning, expertise, policies and prosperity agenda," he said.
On a different note, DPM Pokharel said that only the government was not changed in Nepal but entire system had been changed so the country was experiencing transition-level inadequacies and complexities. "However, I am hopeful that we will soon overcome these shortcomings and lead the country to a stable development path," he said. "This is the time to create policies for long-term political, economic and social development."
He said that both the countries had communist party-led governments and Nepal wanted to learn from the policies and works of the Chinese government.
Nepal’s Ambassador to China Leela Mani Paudyal urged the Chinese youth investors to invest in Nepal and tap business potentials here by utilising natural and human resources.
With the political stability, Nepal has been opened for greater Foreign Direct Investment with more favourable investment policies and business-friendly climate, he said.
"Youth in Nepal are leaving the country in search of jobs abroad. Nepal and China both can reap the demographic dividend here," he said.
He termed the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping 'highly successful and fruitful'.
"The visit happened after a gap of 23 years and during these years China has become a global economic power and implemented unprecedented development plans so Nepal can benefit from the its neighbour’s experience, technology and expertise," he stated.
According to him, Nepal had an opportunity to raise its image at the international level with the top-level visit from China and also to motivate more investment and tourists to come to the country.
Paudyal said that the bilateral relations between the two countries have entered into a new era.
Yang Dongping, Vice President and General Secretary of the Silk Road Youth Forum, said that the SRYF was a platform for dialogue and exchanges between young people from countries and regions along the Silk Road.
"I hope that the youth of our two countries can inherit the tradition of good neighbours and friendship between China and Nepal over thousands of years and consolidate and develop our friendship in the cause of building the Belt and Road," he said.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 15 October 2019.
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