Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali has stressed on people-to-people connectivity between Nepal and China for enhancing the friendship between the two neighbouring countries. Speaking about Nepal-China relations in Sichuan University in Chengdu on Friday, the visiting minister said that academic exchanges, tourism, cultural exchanges and cooperation would help in strengthening proximity between the people of these countries.  

“As the future belongs to young generation, exchanging visits and sharing of opinions between the youths of these countries have become crucial so that they can frame correct policy to lead the future in the right direction” said Minister Gyawali. 

The minister appreciated Chinese assistance in the construction of airports in Pokhara and Lumbini, the tourist cities of Nepal, to spur the untapped tourism potentiality of nature-gifted Nepal. 

He also expressed appreciation to China for its quick response when Nepali people were devastated by the earthquake in 2015. Addressing a roundtable of China Reform Forum on Thursday, the minister had termed China a genuine friend and a trusted ally. 

“In the days ahead, we should build on the excellent roots of civilizational, geographical and cultural affinities to further connect our countries and societies in order to achieve common prosperity in the trans-Himalayan region,” said the Minister, addressing the function. 

Minister Gyawali wrapped up his Beijing visit on Thursday where he met Vice President of China Wang Qishan and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi. In his meetings, he dwelt on expediting past agreements, developing trans-Himalayan multi-dimensional transport network and building a China-Nepal-India economic corridor. 

Sichuan Province is the largest trading partner of Nepal in China after Tibet. Sichuan was the first among the provinces of China to dispatch medical teams to Nepal following a devastating earthquake in Nepal on April 25, 2015. Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan, is the center of the Southern Silk Road. According to historians, ancient Sichuan, with Chengdu as it’s most important city, linked South Asia through Yunnan, Tibet, Nepal, Myanmar, India, and Thailand, and extended as far as the Middle East. 

Minister Gyawali had visited Sichuan University some three years ago in a political training programme, leading a delegation of CPN-UML. 

Recalling Nepal’s affiliation to ancient Silk Road, the Minister said that Nepal was an important lynchpin in that ancient Silk Road and wealth generated by the trans-Himalaya trade had helped Nepal build marvelous architecture and monuments in Kathmandu Valley. He said that trade was an important pillar of the economies of both Nepal and western China in ancient time which started to slacken at the beginning of the 19th century owing to technological advancement and knowledge development in Europe.

“The trans-Himalayan routes had immense influence on land extending from present-day western China, central China, Turkmenistan, Bamiyan (Afghanistan), Mongolia, Nepal, Bangladesh (Chittagong), Sri Lanka, and India (from Kolkata  to Kashmir),” said Gyawali, adding that the large-scale trade and cultural communication between South Western China and South Asia since ancient times contributed not just to cross-border trade and commerce but also to cross-civilizational cultural exchanges and cross-pollination of ideas across continents.

Nepal has become a member of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) since 2017, a pet project of Chinese President Xi Jinping aimed at reviving the connectivity concept of the ancient Silk Road.

Saying that the need of the day is to envisage a new paradigm of co-operation and commerce across the Himalayas for a win-win outcome, the minister praised the BRI project, which he said, could rejuvenate the commercial exchanges between Nepal and China.

“The proposed BRI projects encompassing cross-border roads, railways, oil pipelines, information highways, energy grids, skyways and transmission highways should aim at utilizing the rich resources along the Himalayan range, and  improving the quality of lives of peoples in those areas,” said Minister Gyawali.

Recalling Nepal’s prosperity when its trade ascended through the Himalayas, Minister Gyawali said that Nepal’s trajectory of economic development will bloom again once Nepal-China gets connected through the Himalayas. He shared with pleasure the understanding reached with his counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing on developing trans-Himalayan multi-dimensional transport network with long term vision.

He also stated that China’s technology, manufacturing capability and market together with Nepal’s rich natural, geographical and locational resources, will create the right mix of value chain and complement for continued economic growth of both the nations. 

The minister called for Chinese investment and technology transfer in Nepal’s agriculture, tourism, natural resource, hydropower and manufacturing sector, saying that Nepal’s duty-free-quota-free market access for its products in many developed and emerging economies could serve as an incentive for investment in manufacturing sectors.

Responding to a query raised by Nepali medical students at the University regarding the difficulty for Nepali doctors to pursue higher course in medical education, Minister Gyawali responded that policies on salary standards would be reviewed and progress shall be made in enhancing security to the doctors. He also said that government is working to inject more money into government-funded hospitals so that more aspirants can get scholarships.