Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi have met during the dinner reception hosted by Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin.
Posting an X message following the meeting, Prime Minister Modi has expressed happiness to meet with Prime Minister Oli.
"Delighted to meet Nepal PM Mr. KP Oli in Tianjin. India’s relations with Nepal are deep-rooted and very special," Modi mentioned on X.
This was, however, not a scheduled bilateral meeting between the two prime ministers. The two prime ministers happened to meet with each other in the course of attending a banquet and gala performance hosted by Chinese President Xi and his spouse Peng Liyuan for the participants of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit today. The PM and high level Nepali delegation, including the First Lady Radhika Shakya, attended the banquet and cultural function held at the Tianjin Meijiang Convention Center.
India has already invited Prime Minister Oli to visit India on 'mutually convenient dates.' However, there have been speculations whether Prime Minister Oli's India visit will take place given the strained relations between Nepal and India over Lipulekh pass.
The relations between the two countries has sourced after India and China reached an agreement to reopen trade via Lipulekh pass during Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi's recent two-day official visit to India. Foreign Minister Wang visited India on August 18-19.
After arriving in Tianjin on Saturday (August 30), he first day of the five-day visit, Prime Minister Oli held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During the meeting with Xi, Prime Minister Oli firmly objected to the India-China agreement on the reopening of the trade through Lipulekh. "All the lands to the east of the Mahakali River belong to sovereign Nepal under the Saugauli Treaty (1816). Nepal has serious objections to the India-China agreement to reopen trade via Nepali territory, Lipulekh," Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai quoted PM Oli as saying.
Prime Minister Oli is on a five-day official visit to China at the cordial invitation of President Xi. Oli will address the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit on September 1 before heading to Beijing, the capital city of China, where he will observe the commemoration of the 80th Anniversary of China's Victory Against Japanese Aggression and World's Anti-Fascist War.
Earlier in the day today, Prime Minister Oli held meetings with the Prime Minister of Vietnam, Pham Minh Chinh in Tianjin on the sidelines of the SCO. He is also scheduled to hold a sideline meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin tomorrow, according to the Foreign Ministry.
Oli and his delegation will return home on September 3, wrapping up his five-day official visit to China.
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