By Our Reporter
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is paying a visit to China from September 23. However, it is not sure whether he will succeed in making any headway to bring in the aid of Rs. 65 billion announced by Chinese President Xi Jinping during his Nepal visit in October 2019.
According to the government preparations, PM Dahal will leave for Hangzhou, China from New York, where he will be attending the United Nations General Assembly. He will first attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou as a guest and then will engage in his official engagements in Beijing and other Chinese cities.
Although the foreign ministry has not made public the itineraries of the PM’s China visit, Foreign Minister NP Saud has said that during the prime minister’s China visit, both sides will discuss matters related to agriculture, health, road connectivity, opening up of the border points, energy cooperation and the growing trade deficit with China.
Talking to journalists in Solukhumbu on Monday, Saud said the Nepali side was also preparing to seek the grant announced by Chinese President Xi during his state visit to Nepal in October 2019.
During the delegation-level talks, Xi announced RMB 3.5 billion in aid, which is equivalent to Rs. 65 billion, for the years 2020–2022. However, due to the Nepali side’s failure to hold the negotiations with the Chinese side, Nepal has yet to receive the grant.
“We have put some programmes and projects under the grant announced by the Chinese President during his Nepal visit. So we have prioritised some projects to be funded under the grant announced by the Chinese president,” Saud said.
As Nepali officials hesitate to proceed ahead the negotiations regarding the BRI, the upcoming visit may also not be fruitful in bringing in the announced programme under the BRI.
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