Nepal an important cooperative partner in BRI: China
BEIJING, July 1: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China has hinted of a possible high-level visit from Nepal to China in the first week of July for a trade fair which focuses on trades and investments along the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) routes.
Speaking in the regular press conference of the ministry on Thursday, China's Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Lu Kang informed that Nepal is an important partner in the BRI and the two sides are communicating on the attendance of Nepal's high-level delegation in the 23rd China Lanzhou Investment and Trade Fair.
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“The Chinese side views Nepal as an important cooperative partner for the building of the Belt and Road and welcomes Nepal's participation at the 23rd China Lanzhou Investment and Trade Fair as a guest of honor. The two sides are communicating on the attendance of Nepal's high-level delegation,” he said while responding to a query about whether Nepali leaders will attend the event or not.
The yearly fair is scheduled for July 6 to 9 in Lanzhou, Gansu of China this year. Nepal will be a guest of honor in the fair where representatives of government and investors from other Belt and Road countries will also attend.
Stating that there has been rapid development of bilateral cooperation between China and Nepal in various fields in recent years, he also said that the Chinese side will take the opportunity of jointly pushing forward the BRI to cement China-Nepal friendship and expand mutually beneficial cooperation.
“Leaders of the two countries have reached broad consensus in areas such as as connectivity, free trade and post-disaster reconstruction and inked an inter-governmental memorandum of understanding on cooperation under the BRI. Not long ago, the two sides held fruitful diplomatic consultations. The Chinese side will move forward the comprehensive cooperative partnership featuring ever-lasting friendship between the two countries,” he added.
If the minister level delegation participates in the fair, it will be another high-level delegation visiting China from Nepal in the interval of more than a month in a row. A high-level delegation led by the then deputy prime minister and Finance Minister and now deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara had visited China to participate in the first Belt and Road Forum last month.
