Wang concludes Nepal visit

 Kathmandu, Mar. 27

State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China Wang Yi concluded the 3-day visit of Nepal and Yi and left for Beijing with his delegation on Sunday.

Upon the conclusion of the official visit happened at the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Narayan Khadka, Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal and other officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) saw them off at the Tribhuvan International Airport, the ministry informed in a statement.

Earlier on Sunday, Wang paid a courtesy call to President Bidya Devi Bhandari at her office in Maharajgunj where the two talked about the bilateral relations between the two neighbours, mutual interest and concerns.

"In the meeting, President Bhandari stated that Nepal and China were good neighbours since time immemorial, and said that the high-level exchanges like this further strengthen the multidimensional relations between the two," said Spokesperson of the President's Office, Sagar Acharya.

Earlier, on the same day, FM Wang met with former Prime Minister and Chairman of CPN (UML) KP Sharma Oli and former PM and Chairman of CPN (Maoist Centre) Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'.

According to a UML source, Chairman Oli has stressed on expediting the projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and hoped for Chinese support in railway, irrigation, roads and hydroelectricity.

Oli also urged Wang to open the border points with China that have been obstructed showing the COVID-19 as a reason. He also expressed concerns to the plight of Nepali students stuck in Nepal since the advent of the pandemic.

 

 

 

Earlier on Saturday, Nepal and China signed a 9-point agreement including projects like conducting the feasibility study of cross-boarder power grid connection, agreement for economic and technical cooperation for the feasibility study of inter-country railway project, maintenance of Arniko Highway (third phase), and cooperation in the railway sector.

Similarly, the two countries also signed agreement on Nepal’s grass export to China, duty free entry of 98 per cent Nepali goods in China, supplying 4 million doses of Sinovac vaccine to Nepal, and sending a team of Chinese doctors to BP Koirala Cancer Hospital in Bharatpur Chitwan are other components of the bilateral agreement signed between the two countries.

Secretaries of the concerned ministries and Chinese Ambassador and other government officials signed on the agreements.

In the delegational-level bilateral meeting between FM Dr. Khadka and his Chinese Counterpart Wang, the two ministers discussed all important aspects of Nepal-China relations and cooperation.

In the meeting, both sides reaffirmed their support for sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national independence of each other.

FM Wang assured that China will be providing development assistance committed to Nepal by President Xi Jinping during his State Visit to Nepal in October 2019.

The two Ministers have instructed their relevant authorities to work to fully operationalize the Tatopani/Zhangmu and Rasuwagadi/Kerung border ports for two-way movement of goods between Nepal and China.

FM Wang called on Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. During the meeting, they discussed issues of bilateral interest and witnessed the virtual completion ceremony of the Pokhara Regional International Airport.

FM Wang had led a 20-member delegation, including China's Ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi, Assistant Minister of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Commerce, Wu Jianghao and Sheng Qiuping respectively.

Likewise, Nepali delegation led by Dr. Khadka included Foreign Secretary Paudyal, and secretaries of Ministry of Finance, Tourism, Home Affairs, Energy, Agriculture, Industry, Physical Infrastructure, Health, and Land Management, and high officials from the MoFA.

The Chinese FM had arrived in Kathmandu after concluding his visit to Pakistan, Afghanistan and India. This is his second visit in three years.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 28 March 2022.