PM Oli leads 40-member delegation to China with business leaders
The visit, scheduled for the 17th of this month, will include a 40-member government delegation, along with business leaders and industrialists.
KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s upcoming visit to China is generating significant preparations.
The visit, scheduled for the 17th of this month, will include a 40-member government delegation, along with business leaders and industrialists.
Foreign Minister Arjun Rana Deuba is also set to travel to China ahead of the visit.
As part of the preparations for the trip led by Prime Minister Oli, Minister Deuba is scheduled to depart for China today. After returning to Nepal on Saturday, he will once again depart for China on Monday.
During the visit, discussions are expected to cover key topics such as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the status of agreements and their implementation between Nepal and China, ongoing projects, and bilateral relations between the two countries.
A significant agenda item will be a proposal to convert the loan taken from China for the construction of Pokhara International Airport into a grant.
Earlier, the Ministry of Finance had formally proposed this conversion through the Deputy Governor of China’s Development Cooperation Agency, Yang Weikun.
As per the agreement, nearly Rs 25.88 billion was borrowed from China’s EXIM Bank for the construction of the airport. However, as the airport is not yet operational, efforts are underway to transform the loan into a grant.
There are varying opinions in Nepal regarding the issue of borrowing under the BRI framework. While Nepal signed the BRI framework agreement in 2017, Prime Minister Oli recently expressed that Nepal is not in a position to take on further loans and should focus on production instead.
Schedule of the Visit
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister Oli will depart for China on the 17th of Mangsir, and meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping and other high-ranking officials on the 18th.
On the 19th, the Prime Minister will address separate events organized by the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry and Peking University in Beijing.
The visit is set to conclude on the 20th of Mangsir. Although China initially proposed a visit from the 17th to the 21st of Mangsir, the dates were finalized for the 17th to the 20th after both sides completed their preparations.
The official announcement of the visit is expected to be made jointly by Kathmandu and Beijing on the 14th of Mangsir.
Prime Minister Oli is expected to travel aboard a chartered Himalayan Airlines flight. This visit is considered an important step in strengthening Nepal-China relations.
