Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister of Nepal, Dr. Arzu Rana on Monday. (Photo: Courtesy of the Foreign Ministry)
Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song has paid a courtesy call on Foreign Minister of Nepal, Dr. Arzu Rana on Monday.
Held at the Foreign Ministry, Chinese Ambassador Chen and Foreign Minister Rana discussed ways to bolster bilateral ties and cooperation between Nepal and China, Nepal's Foreign Ministry mentioned on X.
This meeting has taken place at a time when the Nepal government is making preparations for the upcoming China visit of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.
Prime Minister Oli is embarking on a visit of northern neighbor China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang.
Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song on November 5 handed over a formal invitation to Prime Minister Oli to visit China on behalf of Chinese Prime Minister Li.
The Chinese side has earlier proposed the December 2-6 for a visit. If the visit goes as per the invitation, this is going to be Oli's third visit to China as the Prime Minister of Nepal.
Oli visited the northern neighbor when he became the Prime Minister for the first time in 2072 BS and for the second time in 2074 BS.
Prime Minister Oli's upcoming China visit has heightened the prospect of signing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) framework agreement, especially given China's positive stance on converting the nearly 26 billion concessional loan for Pokhara International Airport into a grant, foreign experts have said.
For the preparation of Prime Minister Oli's visit to China, Foreign Minister Dr. Arju Rana will probably visit China in late November.
Nepal has been asking China to convert the concessional loan equal to 26 billion rupees received for the construction of Pokhara International Airport into a grant.
With China being positive about converting the loan into grants, a positive atmosphere has also been created about advancing the BRI framework.
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