Chinese Foreign Minister’s Nepal visit packed with immense opportunities (audio report)

March 24, Kathmandu: The Chinese State Councillor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi is arriving on a three-day official visit to Nepal on Friday at the invitation of the Foreign Minister of Nepal Dr Narayan Khadka.

The Chinese Foreign Minister will be holding separate meetings with the President, the Prime Minister, and the Foreign Minister of Nepal during his stay. Minister Wang will also be meeting the top leaders of the major political parties.

Foreign Minister Wang is the highest Chinese official to visit Nepal after Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba assumed office in July last year. This visit is also significant as it has also been taken as a follow up to the visit of the Chinese President Xi Jinping three years back

The delegation led by the Chinese foreign minister is said to hold discussions with the Nepali side on upgrading Nepal from the least developed country to the middle-income country status by the year 2030.

The visit is also said to focus on building physical infrastructures such as ports, roads, railways, air transport and communications as part of China’s Trans-Himalayan Multidimensional Connectivity Network, to support Nepal’s development aspiration of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The implementation of China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI)’s projects will also be high on the agenda of the Chinese Foreign Minister.  China has already proposed the project implementation plan of BRI with Nepal for final approval and Nepal is ready to finalize it during this visit.

Meanwhile, foreign relations experts have stressed using this visit to further consolidate the bilateral relations between Nepal and China. 

The Former Chief Secretary and Former Ambassador of Nepal to China, Leela Mani Paudyal says Nepal should use Minister Wang’s visit to build mutual trust with China.

Similarly, the Executive Director of Tribhuvan University’s Centre for Nepal and Asian Studies (CNAS) Dr Mrigendra Karki says the Chinese Foreign Minister’s visit has given Nepal an opportunity to work with China for ensuring peace, prosperity, and security.

Minister Wang’s visit has been highly anticipated and the Government of Nepal has left no stones unturned to reap maximum benefits from this visit