Deputy Prime Minister and
Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi,
in a bilateral meeting in Beijing
Friday afternoon, signed on an agreement to that effect.
According to a press statement
issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), China
has expressed its willingness to seriously examine Nepal 's
proposals for importation of petroleum products from China and has advised the
respective companies of the two countries to jointly examine the matters
relating to price, transportation and other logistics.
“As a friendly gesture, China will make available additional fuel to
northern areas of Nepal
bordering Tibet Autonomous Region,” read the statement.
Signing an eight-point agreement
with its southern neighbour, China
agreed to hold discussions with the Nepal government to find the long
term solution of the current energy crisis.
The two sides agreed to expand
and consolidate bilateral cooperation focusing mainly on trade, transit,
investment, energy, tourism, and infrastructure development.
According to the MoFA, Nepal and China agreed to upgrade and operationalize
the existing border points to promote connectivity between the two countries.
The Chinese side has agreed to
give priority to the reopening of the Tatopani-Zhangmu border point, which has
been disrupted after the devastating earthquake in April 25.
The northern neighbour said that
it would provide additional facilities for the cross-border trade of Nepalese goods,
and also consented to assist Nepal
to tap the possibilities in the international trade.
Both of the countries have
agreed to task the inter-governmental mechanisms to advance negotiations on the
proposals on free trade area, transit and Bilateral Investment Protection and
Promotion Agreement (BIPPA) which were discussed during the meeting.
Similarly, China has lifted the travel advisories issued in
the context of earthquake in Nepal
immediately after the meeting.
In response, DPM Thapa announced
that Nepal
would waive visa fees for Chinese tourists.
Likewise, the northern neighbour
said that it would soon take up the agreed projects for post-disaster
reconstruction as per its pledged assistance during the International
Conference on Nepal ’s
Reconstruction.
“China
has announced its willingness to support Nepal ’s industrialization process
through reconstruction,” read the press statement.
Meanwhile, Finance Secretary Lok
Darshan Regmi and Chinese Vice Minister for Commerce Zhang Xiangchen, signed
the Agreement on Economic and Technical Cooperation under which China
would make available 900 million RMB as grant assistance for the implementation
of the projects of repair and maintenance of Araniko Highway and other projects.
The assistance was announced by
Chinese President Xi Jinping during his meeting with the then Nepalese
President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav in March 2015 in Boao, Hainan .
The Chinese Foreign Minister
expressed China ’s strong
desire to see a peaceful, stable and prosperous Nepal
and promised for continuous assistance to Nepal to support its development
endeavours, informed MoFA.
Meanwhile, China extended an
invitation to the Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to visit China at an early date.
According to the MoFA, there will be a high-level visit from China to Nepal as well next year.
DPM Thapa is in Beijing for a 6-day official visit on Wang’s
invitation.
He is the first senior cabinet
member to pay an official visit to China after the formation of new
government following the promulgation of constitution.
He is leading a 9-member
delegation that includes Minister for Law and Justice Agni Kharel and
secretaries from MoFA, Ministry of Commerce and Supplies and Ministry of
Finance.
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