China to extend railway link to Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, June 22: Nepal and China have reached various 14 key deals including a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to extend Chinese electric cargo railway network to Kathmandu.

The agreements reached on Thursday after the delegation level talks led by Prime Minister KP Oli and his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang seek to enhance bilateral co-operation between Nepal and China in connectivity, trade, tourism and investment, including through the implementation of various MoUs on co-operation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

According to the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing, the MoU signed by the two countries on Cooperation for Railway Connectivity paves the way for extending Chinese railway network that is expected arrive in Kerung this year up to Kathmandu via Rasuwagadhi.

Expressing happiness over the signing of the MoU on Co-operation for Railway Connectivity, both sides have agreed to intensify co-operation on cross-border railway connectivity, said a press statement issued by Embassy of Nepal in Beijing.

During the delegation-level talks led by prime ministers of the two countries at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Thursday, the two sides reviewed whole gamut of bilateral relations and agreed to implement the agreements and understandings reached in the past, including the early finalization of the Protocol to the Agreement on Transit Transport.

Following the delegation-level talks, Prime Minister Oli and Premier Li had witnessed the signing of the 14 bilateral agreements, Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and Letters of Exchange (LoE) on various sectors to enhance bilateral co-operation in connectivity, trade, tourism and investment.

These agreements include MoU on Energy Co-operation, MoU on Investment and Co-operation on Production Capacity, MoU on Strengthening Co-operation between the two Foreign Ministries, MoU on the Establishment of Mechanism for Facilitation on the Implementation of Nepal-China Co-operation Programmes and Projects in Nepal between the two Foreign Ministries.

Agreement on Economic and Technical Co-operation, Agreements on the Reconstruction of Friendship Bridge and Rasuwa Bridge, Protocol on the Utilization of Highways in Tibet Autonomous Region by Nepal for Cargo Transport and MoU on Human Resource Development Co-operation are among the deals reached between the two countries.

Earlier on Wednesday, the two countries reached eight key MoUs between Nepali agencies and enterprises and their Chinese partners. The MoUs signed include various projects in the areas of hydropower generation, manufacturing, river training and agricultural industries.

Separately, Nepal and China also signed an Agreement for Cooperation between Nepal Electricity Authority and the State Grid Corporation of China for a feasibility study a Cross-border Power Grid Interconnection Project. As per the agreement, the two sides will carry out a feasibility study for 400 KV Kerung-Rasuwagadhi-Galchhi-Ratmate transmission line.

Prior to the delegation level talks on Thursday, Prime Minister Oli was accorded a ceremonial welcome amid a special ceremony held at the Great Hall of the People. In the evening, Premier Li hosted a welcome banquet in honor of the prime minister and his delegation.

Earlier in the afternoon, Prime Minister Oli held a meeting with Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress Li Zhanshu at the Great Hall of the People.

“The two leaders expressed satisfaction over the excellent relations subsisting between the two countries and laid emphasis on the exchange of high-level visits between the Federal Parliament of Nepal and the National People’s Congress of China,” said the statement.

The prime minister is scheduled to leave for Lhasa on Friday morning. He is scheduled to hold meetings with provincial leaders and observe development activities being carried out in Tibet. The prime minister will return home on June 24, concluding his six-day official visit to China.

Key agreements signed on Thursday

MoU on the Establishment of Ministry of Foreign Affairs-level Mechanism for Facilitation on the Implementation of Nepal-China Co-operation Programmes and Projects