Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal left for China on Thursday evening. But there was confusion over the status of his visit—whether it’s an official or state visit or a personal one. 

When the Post enquired, officials said: “None of the above”.

Earlier it was claimed that PM Dahal “is paying an official visit to China on the invitation of the general secretary of the Boao Forum for Asia”. 

A statement issued by the Foreign Ministry on Thursday evening informed about PM’s visit to China, but stopped short of qualifying it. 

 “… Pushpa Kamal Dahal, prime minister of Nepal is leaving for the People’s Republic of China today to attend the opening session of the 2017 Annual Conference of the Boao Forum for Asia scheduled to be held on 23-26 March,” a statement by the Foreign Ministry read. “The prime minister will address the Forum on ‘Globalization and Free Trade: Asian Perspectives’ at Boao, Hainan Province on March 25.”

Officials earlier had said the second part of PM Dahal’s visit—that is to Beijing—would be official one. 

But the ministry statement does not have any mention this, as it says: “After attending the opening session of the Forum, he will depart for Beijing. The PM will meet Xi Jinping, president of the People’s Republic of China and other senior leaders in Beijing.” A senior Foreign Ministry official described the visit as unofficial, saying: “It’s purely an unofficial trip as the prime minister has invited himself to China.”