Miscellaneous
China assures Nepal of ‘high level visit’ this year
China has assured the visiting Nepali delegation of a ‘high level visit’ this year by a top Chinese leader, without divulging the name.Sanjeev Giri
China has assured the visiting Nepali delegation of a ‘high level visit’ this year by a top Chinese leader, without divulging the name.
The assurance came on the sidelines of the ongoing foreign-secretary level talks for reviewing developments in bilateral relations. A four-member delegation led by Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi is in Beijing to assess the progress made by the two nations regarding agreements, understandings and letters exchanged during Prime Minister KP Oli’s China visit in March.
Though China has not named any leader in particular, sources say Chinese President Xi Jinping is most likely to visit Nepal.
No Chinese president has visited Nepal since the then king Birendra hosted president Jiang Zemin in 1996.
“They did not divulge much detail. We have been assured that there will be a high profile visit towards the end of this year,” Nirmal Raj Kafle, head of Nepali mission in Beijing told the Post. President Xi is reportedly preparing to visit Nepal before or after attending BRICS Summit which is scheduled to take place in India in October.
Defence Minister Bhim Bahadur Rawal has also been invited to China by Admiral Sun Jianguo of the People’s Liberation Army during
his visit to Nepal last month, apparently to discuss the matter.
Meanwhile, both the countries have agreed to work more proactively for the timely enactment of the recent agreements.
While the Nepali side has already set up various committees for focusing on the deals, the Chinese side too has agreed to have similar mechanism in place.
“Chinese officials have stated that they will soon form a committee that will look into the transit transport agreement,” Kafle said. Besides, the meeting also discussed issues like connectivity, financial cooperation, energy, culture and tourism, among others.
“Both the countries are more or less prepared with the action plans. China wants these actions plans to be put into an action soon. We too want the same,” said Harish Chandra Ghimire, an official at Nepal’s Embassy.
Nepal and China had accorded numerous agreements a couple of months ago, he explained, but it will take some time for both the countries to show a real progress.
The two countries have also agreed to hold sector-wise follow-up meetings on a regular basis. The team lead by Bairagi held meeting with Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou. Likewise, Bairagi paid a courtesy call to Foreign Minister Wang Yi.