Representative image. ANI
Kathmandu: Nepal and China will hold the 15th edition of bilateral diplomatic consultation in Beijing today.
Nepal’s delegation will be led by its Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal while the Chinese side will be led by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Sun Weidong. The delegation has already reached Beijing.
Topics of discussion between the two foreign ministers include border, security and several other issues. China also seeks to hold a discussion on a new security plan floated by Beijing called the Global Security Initiative (GSI).
In February, China published a concept paper on the GSI plan. Beijing hopes to gain Nepal’s support for the same, however, the government in Kathmandu has been denying it. In 2017, Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the BRI framework agreement. However, so far, no project under BRI has started in Nepal.
China has claimed that the international airport in Pokhara has been built under BRI. However, Nepal has built the airport on its own and has taken a loan for its construction. The meeting between China and Nepal will include a discussion on border management issues.
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has not allowed the border to be fully functional with Nepal. The checkpoints at Humla and other places are completely blocked. Meanwhile, the contracts received by Chinese firms are operating at a very slow pace.
With inputs from agencies
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