Nepalese Prime Minister Pushpa Kumar Dahal ‘Prachanda’ will embark on a visit to China next month, as the landlocked Himayalan country seeks to strike a balance in ties with its larger neighbors, country's foreign minister Narayan Prakash Saud told local media on Sunday.
The top Nepalese diplomat underlined that Kathmandu enjoyed good ties with its northern neighbor. Nepal is bordered by India and China to the south and north respectively.
Saud said that preparations for the prime ministerial visit, the first by Prachanda to Beijing since he came back to power last year, were almost complete, according to local media.
The top Nepalese diplomat underlined that Kathmandu enjoyed good ties with its northern neighbor. Nepal is bordered by India and China to the south and north respectively.
Saud said that preparations for the prime ministerial visit, the first by Prachanda to Beijing since he came back to power last year, were almost complete, according to local media.
The top Nepalese diplomat stressed that foreign ties shouldn’t be based on “ideological and psychological grounds” but should rather be focused on "promoting national dignity, strengthening national unity and guided by national interest and mutual benefits".
Nepal and China are currently involved in conducting a feasibility study for the construction of a trans-Himalayan railway line from Kerung to Kathmandu.
Nepalese PM’s India Visit
Prachanda’s upcoming trip to Beijing would follow his four-day trip to India in May-June, which was his first foreign visit since assuming power.
Prachanda held wide-ranging talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi, with a focus on enhancing hydel-power cooperation and bolstering rail connectivity between the two nations.
Nepal and India are signatories to the 1950-era Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which governs economic, defense and people-to-people ties between the two neighbours.
While India still ranks as Nepal’s largest foreign investor, Beijing has emerged as Kathmandu’s second-biggest investor in recent years, spurred by BRI investments, according to a report in 2022 by Nepal’s central bank (Nepal Rashtra Bank).