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The 14^th meeting of the Nepal-China Diplomatic Consultation Mechanism was held virtually on May 15. Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China His Wu Jianghao led their respective delegations to the meeting.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the two sides took stock of Nepal-China relations and exchanged views on further promoting bilateral relations and cooperation for mutual benefit.

During the meeting, the two sides underscored the importance of the exchange of high-level visits and stressed the need for timely implementation of the agreements and understandings reached between the two countries, reads the statement.

Both sides agreed to promote cooperation in various sectors including trade, transit, connectivity, investment, health, tourism, poverty alleviation, disaster management, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, among others.

Foreign Secretary Paudyal thanked the Chinese Government for the generous support of life-saving vaccines and medical supplies to Nepal during the difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Assistant Minister Wu assured the Foreign Secretary of China’s support for the improvement of health infrastructures as well as for the capacity building of medical personnel of Nepal.

The two sides also agreed to activate bilateral mechanisms to enhance cooperation and partnership in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also emphasized the need for timely completion of China-assisted projects, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 Paudyal thanked the Chinese side for their decision to resume the regular passenger flights between the two countries in Kathmandu-Kunming and Kathmandu-Chengdu sectors. He also thanked the Chinese side for the preparation of the return of Nepali students to China and requested to facilitate the return of Nepali business people and their families to China.

Both sides underlined the need to enhance the level of support for improving the livelihood of people residing in bordering districts in the Northern Himalayan region of Nepal.

They also exchanged views on continuing cooperation in various regional and multilateral forums on matters of mutual interests.

India has imposed restrictions on sugar exports for the first time in six years by capping this season’s exports at 10 million tonnes, a government order said, to prevent a surge in domestic prices after mills sold a record volume on the world market, Reuters reported.

The government has also asked exporters to seek its permission for any overseas shipments between June 1 and October 31, the order said.

India is the world’s biggest sugar producer and the second biggest exporter behind Brazil.

Reuters in March reported that India was planning to curb sugar exports to keep a lid on local prices and ensure steady supplies in the domestic market.

Benchmark white sugar prices in London jumped more than 1% after India’s decision.

“The government is worried about food inflation, and that’s why it is trying to ensure that enough sugar remains in the country to cater to the festival season,” said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.

Exporters also said the decision to allow mills to export 10 million tonnes would help India sell a reasonably big quantity of sugar on the world market, according to Reuters.

Initially, India planned to cap sugar exports at 8 million tonnes, but the government later decided to allow mills to sell some more sugar on the world market as production estimates were revised upwards.

The Indian Sugar Mills Association, a producers’ body, revised its output forecast to 35.5 million tonnes, up from its previous estimate of 31 million tonnes.

Indian mills have so far signed contracts to export 9.1 million tonnes of sugar in the current 2021/22 marketing year without government subsidies. Out of the contracted 9 million tonnes, mills have already dispatched around 8.2 million tonnes of the sweetener, Reuters reported.

Tika Ram Khadka has been elected as the mayor of Tulsipur Sub-Metropolitan City.

He secured 31, 408 votes while his nearest rival Gahendra Giri of Nepali Congress got 27, 716 votes.

Similarly, Syani Chaudhary of CPN-UML has been elected as the deputy mayor. 

She garnered 30, 597 votes against her close contender Gog Bahadur Rana of CPN (Unified Socialist) who received 21, 065 votes.

UML's Naru Lal Chaudhary and Huma DC have been elected as the mayor and deputy mayor of the Ghorahi Sub-Metropolitan City.

Nepal reported five new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday.

According to the Ministry of Health and Population, 1, 889 swab samples were tested in the RT-PCR method, of which four returned positive. Likewise, 838 people underwent antigen tests, of which one was tested positive.

The Ministry said that no one died of virus in the last 24 hours. The Ministry said that nine infected people recovered from the disease.

As of today, there are 128 active cases in the country.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 14. 37 points to close at 2,231.57 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index plunged by 2.42 points to close at 435. 09 points.

Meanwhile, a total of 2,694,429 unit shares of 226 companies were traded for Rs 1. 04 billion.

In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green. Non Life Insurance topped the chart with 134. 51 points.

Meanwhile, Balephi Hydropower Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 5. 92 percent.

Corporate Development Bank Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 7. 13 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalisation stood at Rs 3. 17 trillion.

The Nepal Stock Exchange (NEPSE) gained 14. 37 points to close at 2,231.57 points on Wednesday.

Similarly, the sensitive index plunged by 2.42 points to close at 435. 09 points.

Meanwhile, a total of 2,694,429 unit shares of 226 companies were traded for Rs 1. 04 billion.

In today’s market, all sub-indices saw green. Non Life Insurance topped the chart with 134. 51 points.

Meanwhile, Balephi Hydropower Limited was the top gainer today, with its price surging by 5. 92 percent.

Corporate Development Bank Limited was the top loser as its price fell by 7. 13 percent.

At the end of the day, total market capitalisation stood at Rs 3. 17 trillion.

China's foreign ministry said on Wednesday a US-backed economic plan for Asia seeks to decouple countries from the Chinese economy, but many countries are worried about the "huge cost" of doing so, Reuters reported.

Speaking at a regular press briefing, ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said the Indo Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) serves US interests and seeks to exclude other countries.

US President Joe Biden launched this plan on Monday. Initial founding countries include Australia, Brunei, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, Vietnam and the United States, but not China, according to Reuters.

The United Nations is honoring four Nepali UN peacekeepers posthumously on the occasion of International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers on May 26 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The UN Secretary-General António Guterres will award the Dag Hammarskjöld Medal posthumously to 117 military, police, and civilian peacekeepers, who lost their life serving under the UN flag last year, read a statement issued by the United Nations on Wednesday.

NCE Pitambar Thapa of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL); Private Dipendra Osti, who served with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS); Police POA Umesh Kumar Mehattar; who served with the UN-AU Mission in Darfur (UNAMID); and Mr. Jhank Nath Regmi who served in a civilian capacity in the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) are among the peacekeepers to be honored posthumously.

In his message, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said: “Today, we honour the more than one million women and men who have served as UN peacekeepers since 1948.  We pay tribute to the nearly 4,200 heroes and heroines who sacrificed their lives in the cause of peace. And we are reminded an age-old truth: peace can never be taken for granted. Peace is the prize. We are deeply grateful to the 87,000 civilian, police and military personnel now serving under the UN flag who are helping to realize the prize of peace worldwide.”

The theme for this year’s observance is “People. Peace. Progress. The Power of Partnerships.” According to the Secretary-General, "Around the globe, UN peacekeepers work with Member States, civil society, humanitarians, the media, the communities they serve and many others, to foster peace, protect civilians, promote human rights and the rule of law and improve the lives of millions of people.”

Nepal is the third largest troops-contributing country in the United Nations Peacekeeping mission.