Nepal – China discuss trade, transit, cooperation during virtual meet

During a virtual meeting Nepal and China underscored the importance of exchange of high-level visits and stressed the need for timely implementation of the agreements and understandings reached between the two countries.

The 14th meeting of the Nepal-China Diplomatic Consultation Mechanism was held virtually Wednesday afternoon, according to a press release issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal and Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China  Wu Jianghao led their respective delegations during the meeting.

“On the occasion, the two sides took stock of Nepal-China relations and exchanged views on further promoting bilateral relations and cooperation for mutual benefit.”

“Both sides, during the meeting, agreed to promote cooperation in various sectors including trade, transit, connectivity, investment, health, tourism, poverty alleviation, disaster management, education, culture, and people-to-people exchanges, among others,” according to the Foreign Ministry.

“Foreign Secretary Paudyal thanked the China Government for the generous support of life-saving vaccines and medical supplies to Nepal during the difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the Foreign Ministry statement reads adding “Assistant Minister Wu assured the Foreign Secretary of China’s support for the improvement of health infrastructures as well as for the capacity building of medical personnel of Nepal.”

“The two sides also agreed to activate bilateral mechanisms to enhance cooperation and partnership in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. They also emphasized the need for timely completion of China-assisted projects.”

Foreign Secretary Paudyal thanked the Chinese side for their decision to resume the regular passenger flights between the two countries in Kathmandu-Kunming and Kathmandu-Chengdu sectors, according to the statement. He also thanked the Chinese side for making preparation for the Nepalese students to return to China and requested to facilitate the return of Nepali business people and their families to China.

“Both sides underlined the need to enhance the level of support for improving the livelihood of people residing in bordering districts in the Northern Himalayan region of Nepal.”

They also exchanged views on continuing cooperation in various regional and multilateral forums on matters of mutual interests, adds the statement.

The Nepali delegation consisted of senior officials of various Ministries of the Government of Nepal and the Chargé d’affaires at the Embassy of Nepal in Beijing. Similarly, the Chinese delegation comprised the high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China and the Ambassador of China to Nepal.