Prime Minister Oli’s China visit from today, what is happening in China?

Kathmandu. Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is leaving for neighboring China on an official visit. Prime Minister Oli is going to leave for China today for a four-day visit, leading the Nepali delegation at the formal invitation of Chinese Prime Minister Li Ching.

This is Prime Minister Oli’s first official visit to China in his new term. Prime Minister Oli will depart for China from Tribhuvan International Airport at 11 am on a Himalayan Airlines charter flight, the Prime Minister’s Office has said.

The Council of Ministers meeting held before the visit of the Prime Minister to China has expressed good wishes for the success of the visit to China. Minister for Communications and Information Technology Prithvi Subba Gurung informed that the meeting decided to accept a grant project worth 20 million dollars (about 2.7 billion rupees) to be made by China. According to Minister Gurung, in addition to this, it has been decided to accept a proposed program agreement worth 300 million RMB (about 5.6 billion rupees).

He informed that during the Prime Minister’s visit to China, construction of Tokha-Khare tunnel, construction of economic zone at Korla crossing in Mustang, construction of Kimathanka road in Sankhuwasabha, feasibility study of railway in Rasuwagadhi, second phase expansion of Ring Road in Kathmandu, Bonmarrow service in Chitwan Cancer Hospital etc. will be moved forward.
A high-level meeting has been scheduled between Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow. Prime Minister Oli will begin preparations for the meeting and agreement as soon as he arrives in China on Monday. The agenda has been arranged for Prime Minister Oli to meet President Xi on Tuesday evening. On the same day, bilateral talks have been scheduled between Prime Minister Oli and Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in the morning. The Prime Ministers of the two countries will discuss various aspects of mutual interests, development partnerships, and future cooperation. Various BRI-related projects are scheduled to be signed between the two countries in the afternoon.

According to the agenda of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Prime Minister Oli will be accompanied by his wife Radhika Shakya. The Nepali delegation includes Foreign Minister Dr. Arju Rana, Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister Bishnu Prasad Rimal, former Finance Minister and Economic and Development Advisor to the Prime Minister Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada, along with high-ranking government officials and private sector experts will participate. Prime Minister Oli is scheduled to return home on November 20.

Nepal ready to sign
During the visit of Prime Minister Oli, Nepal is ready to sign the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) implementation plan with some amendments. The Nepal government has formed a task force to reach a decision on the agreement called the BRI Implementation Plan proposed by China.

The task force included the Prime Minister’s Chief Advisor Bishnu Rimal, Nepali Congress General Secretary Gagan Thapa, and former Finance Minister Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada. According to former Finance Minister and Economic and Development Advisor to the Prime Minister Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada, the final decision was made after discussing the proposal made by China.

He informed that Nepal is ready to sign the action plan named after the BRI Framework as Nepal had signed a major agreement in 2017. He said, “We had signed the major MoU in the name of the BRI Framework, so we have proposed to sign the action plan named after the same.”

Pointing out that there were some minor amendments to the proposals that would not have a major impact on the agreement, he expressed confidence that the agreement would be signed without any restrictions. Nepal has already sent the document with the amendments. However, a written response has not been received.