Nepal’s Ambassador to China Bishnu Pukar Shrestha said better connectivity is a prerequisite to enhance collaboration in trade, investment and other areas.
“We are equally focusing on railway connectivity, accelerating the construction of transmission lines and tunnels,” he said about Dahal’s imminent Beijing visit. Tourism is another vital area where the two countries have been focusing of late. In this regard, Sichuan Airlines of China is set to conduct an inaugural flight to Pokhara International Airport on Wednesday. Shrestha said talks are underway with the Chinese side to increase the flights between the cities of the two countries. “These initiatives will boost Nepal’s tourism industry,” he added. Besides, the two sides are also holding talks on bringing new Chinese agricultural technology to Nepal. Prime Minister Dahal’s China visit is expected to make some progress in this regard. If Chinese agricultural technology is adopted, it will help Nepali farmers increase their agricultural output. Prime Minister Dahal has also expressed his desire to finalize at least one project under the Belt and Road Initiative. A Nepal government source said both Nepal and China want to give the message that the BRI project is moving ahead, be it under grant or heavily concessional loan scheme. “We have finalized the key priority areas of cooperation and there has been some progress as well,” said Ambassador Shrestha. He added that the Chinese side has also been emphasizing the speedy implementation of agreements reached between two countries during Xi Jinping’s 2019 Nepal visit. China has of late stepped up its engagement with a wider section of Nepali society. Over the past few weeks, delegations from the CPN (Maoist Center) and the CPN-UML have visited China. Similarly, Chairman of National Assembly Ganesh Prasad Timalsina paid an official visit to China and held talks with Wang Huning, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference. Huning told Timalsina that the two sides should synergize development strategies, maintain the political foundation for the growth of bilateral relations, expand exchanges and cooperation, and add new impetus to the respective development and revitalization of the two countries. Key priorities
- Road
- Railway
- Tunnel
- Transmission lines
- Agriculture
- Tourism
- Security cooperation
- Fertilizer
- People-to-people exchanges
