Prime Minister KPSharma Oli will be leaving for China on June 19 on a six-day official visit atthe invitation of Chinese Premier Li Keqiang.

Duringthe visit, Oli will hold delegation-level bilateral talks with his Chinesecounterpart Li, and also meet senior Chinese leaders. He will also visit Lhasa,the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region of China, according to a statementissued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs today.

Oliwill also hold a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping, said a high-levelMoFA official. “The PM will hold meetings with three state leaders during thetrip, including the president and the premier,” said the official, adding Oliwill also meet Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank President Jin Liqun.

Accordingto officials involved in preparations, the visit will mostly focus on theimplementation of agreements signed during Oli’s previous visit to Beijing in2016, including the landmark Agreement on Transit Transport, giving Nepalaccess to Chinese ports for its foreign trade.

Thetwo countries will also sign agreements and memorandums of understanding duringthe visit.

TheCabinet has already approved the Chinese government’s proposal to build twobridges — one that connects Rasuwagadi and Kerung and the other at the Tatopaniborder point in Sindhupalchowk — with full Chinese financial and technicalsupport.

AnotherMoU will be signed between National Energy Administration of China and Nepal’sMinistry of Energy on energy cooperation.

Thetwo countries will also sign a pact to set up a ‘dialogue mechanism’ betweenenergy ministries of both countries, and MoU on technology transfer andproduction capacity building in areas of industrial development, agriculture,science and trade, according to the MoFA official.

Anotheragreement planned is Protocol to Utilisation of Tibetan Highways for Transportof Nepali Cargo Through Tibet. A Nepali delegation, which is in China tonegotiate the protocol, gave finishing touches to the draft agreement today,said the official.

AnotherMoU is for preparing a Detailed Project Report for the proposedKerung-Rasuwagadi-Galchhi cross-border electricity transmission line. “However,negotiations are on and draft exchanges are taking place,” said the MoFAofficial.

Officialssaid talks would be held not only on the development of the cross-borderrailway, but also domestic railway lines in Nepal, and some other projectsunder the Belt and Road Initiative. “Nepal will give a message that it iscommitted to the Belt and Road Initiative, and wants to go hand in hand withChina under this initiative,” said the official.

Thetwo governments will issue a joint statement on June 21.

Theentourage of the PM, who will be accompanied by his spouse Radhika Shakya, willinclude Minister of Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa, Minister of Foreign AffairsPradeep Kumar Gyawali, Minister of Energy, Water Resources and IrrigationBarsha Man Pun, Minister of Physical Infrastructure and TransportRaghubirMahaseth, Chief Adviser to the Prime Minister BishnuRimal, members ofParliament, high-ranking government officials, representatives of the privatesector and mediapersons.

Source:MyRepublica, 14^th June 2018