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Nepal-China secy talks next week
Nepal and China are set to hold foreign secretary level talks in Kathmandu on June 22.Nepal and China are set to hold foreign secretary level talks in Kathmandu on June 22.
The meeting, which is taking place after three years, is expected to discuss a wide range of bilateral issues, including recent pacts signed during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to China.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has prepared a 38-point roadmap to execute the agreements signed with China, and various line ministers have been told to implement the deals and understandings signed during the visit.
Nepal and China signed a transit agreement during PM Oli’s visit to the northern neighbour in the third week of March. However, the protocol of the agreement is yet to be approved by both sides. Nepal and China need to a form a negotiation team to prepare the protocol.
During the visit, both sides also agreed to reactivate the bilateral mechanisms that are expected to pave the way for the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Nepal sometime in October, said officials.
Foreign secretary level talks to be held next will be led by Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi from the Nepali side while Assistant Foreign Minister Kong Xuanyou will be leading the Chinese side.
Besides this, Nepal is also planning to open a consulate general office in Chengdu of China. A Cabinet meeting on May 20 decided to exchange a diplomatic note with Chinese government to set up a new mission in Guangzhou. As per the decision, the new consulate general office in Guangzhou will cover Guangdong Province, Hainan Province, Fujian Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.
Nepal has its embassy in the Chinese capital Beijing and two other consulate general offices in Lhasa and Hong Kong. “We plan to open a new consulate general office n Guangzhou for various reasons,” said an official. The Ministry of General Administration is conducting organisation and management survey for setting up the new consulate general office in Guangzhou.