A visiting Nepali delegation on Wednesday reached a formal agreement with the Chinese authorities to import fuel from China, ending a four-decade supply monopoly of Indian Oil Corporation. 

The visiting delegation signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Chinese government. “Now the door has been opened to import fuel from China. A bilateral agreement has been reached for the same,” Nepali Ambassador to China Mahesh Maskey, who is leading the delegation, told the Post over phone from Beijing. 

The northern neighbour became ready to supply fuel to crisis-ridden Nepal at the request of Nepali government after India curtailed fuel supply to Nepal by as much as 90 percent for the past one month. 

Earlier this week, China had pledged to provide 1000 metric ton (1,300 kilolitres) of fuel to fuel-strapped Nepal in grant, raising hopes among the people bearing the brunt of the crippling crisis.

An eight-member government delegation led by Maskey had left for Beijing on Monday to open Nepal’s first oil trade negotiations with China in the wake of severe fuel shortages in the country. 

The team had been mandated to negotiate the price, quantity, quality and other technical details of petroleum products to be procured from China.