Nepali PM's China visit landmark to enhance relations: experts

Nepali Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli's visit to China is a landmark taking the bilateral relationship to a new height, foreign affairs experts said here on Thursday.

Oli's week-long visit to China, which started on March 20, has added a new avenue to boost the traditional close relationship between the two countries, the experts said.

"This visit is highly successful, productive, historic and landmark in terms of enhancing friendly relations between Nepal and China creating a solid foundation to further strengthen the government-to- government as well as people-to-people contacts," Madan Regmi, chairperson of China Study Centre, a leading think-tank in Kathmandu, told Xinhua.

He was of the view that the visit has been warmly welcomed by the people, politicians and civil society with the signing of major bilateral cooperation deals in Beijing including the Transit Transport Agreement which gives access to Nepal to conduct trade and commerce with third countries via Chinese sea ports.

"The transit and trade deals signed in Beijing are highly significant for Nepal as the country has now moved forward toward achieving socio-economic development after promulgating the new constitution in September last year," Regmi said, who has been widely known as an expert on the China-Nepal relationship.

Commenting on the ongoing visit of the prime minister, a veteran diplomat and former minister Bhesh Bahadur Thapa told Xinhua, "This has proved yet again that China is our good neighbor."

"The prime minister's visit has a historical significance to enhance long-term partnership between Nepal and China," he added.

Nepal's former ambassador to China, Tanka Karki, said Oli's visit has added an avenue to enhance cooperation on various fields such as connectivity, hydropower, physical infrastructure building, tourism, energy, trade and commerce between China and Nepal.

"Nepal now must work toward infrastructure buildings to construct railways on its own side to link the railways to China's Qinghai-Tibet Railway," Karki said.

"Prime Minister Oli's visit has taken our close bilateral relationship to a greater height. This has further reiterated China's warm and generous support to Nepal's socio-economic endeavors," the former ambassador said.

Kathmandu-based major daily newspapers and television stations have given wide coverage on the prime minister's visit to China, hailing that the visit has enhanced partnership. Enditem