China’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs Sun Weidong arrived in Kathmandu on Monday on a three-day official visit during which he will meet the country’s top leadership and attend the 16th Meeting of Nepal-China Diplomatic Consultation Mechanism.
Krishna Prasad Dhakal, Joint Secretary and Head of the North East Asia Division of the Foreign Ministry, welcomed the Chinese Vice Minister upon his arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport here. The 16th meeting of the Nepal-China Diplomatic Consultation Mechanism will take place in the capital on Tuesday, according to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal will lead the Nepali delegation comprising senior officials from various ministries at the Consultation Mechanism Meeting while Sun will lead the Chinese delegation, according to the Foreign Ministry.
The high-level meeting in Kathmandu will discuss overall areas of bilateral relations and bilateral cooperation between Nepal and China.According to officials at the Prime Minister’s Office, China has proposed at least an initial signing of the implementation plan of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). Such an initial signing typically leads to a full-fledged signing of an agreement at a later date.
But most likely, the implementation plan of the Belt and Road Initiative will be signed on Tuesday, a senior foreign ministry official said after the meeting between Prime Minister Dahal and Sun. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has forwarded the draft of the BRI implementation plan to the prime minister’s office for final approval. This draft, initially prepared by the Chinese side, was revised by the National Planning Commission in consultation with various line ministries before being forwarded for approval.Two officials at the Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Post that during the meeting, the two sides would review and assess past agreements and accords signed during high-level visits after 2015. Former Prime Minister KP Oli has twice visited China after 2015, as has incumbent Prime Minister Dahal, while Chinese President Xi Jinping has paid a state visit to Nepal in October 2019.
“The status of bilateral relations as well as the understandings and agreements reached between the two sides after 2015 will be reviewed,” the officials added.At the meeting, the Nepali side will call for establishing economic and development corridors with China. A proposal to this effect was made by Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shretsha during his China visit in March.During his meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi in Beijing, Shrestha proposed the creation of an economic and development corridor linking Nepal, Tibet, Sichuan and Chongqing.Only two Nepali consignments from third countries have passed via Chinese ports in the past five years, two officials said.
“Now we want to make this agreement functional. This requires upgrading our infrastructure and encouraging our exporters and importers to use Chinese ports for third-country trade,” said an official at the Prime Minister’s Office who is privy to the agenda of Tuesday’s meeting.He added that addressing technical issues will be crucial for the agreement’s full implementation.During his meeting with Prime Minister Dahal on Monday, Sun discussed a wide range of issues between the two countries.
According to the private secretariat of Dahal, the prime minister urged more Chinese support after Nepal graduated from the category of least developed countries. Nepal is set to graduate from least developed countries to developed countries by the end of 2026.
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