Ahead of the visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal to China, Vice President Ram Sahaya Prasad Yadav is visiting the northern neighbour leading an 18-member Nepali delegation to Kunming.

This will be his first foreign visit after being sworn in as vice president of the country on March 20.

The organisers of the 7th China-South Asia Expo and the 27th China Kunming Import and Export Fair in the city of Kunming had sent out invitations to Vice President Yadav, Education Minister Ashok Rai, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Ramesh Rijal, Mayor of Pokhara Metropolitan City Dhanraj Acharya and Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Poudyal. The event is scheduled to kick off next week.

In order to facilitate trade between Nepal and Yunnan Province, the Chinese provincial government has set up an office named Yunnan Commercial Representative Office in Kathmandu.

“Prior to the expo, I am attending a UN function in Thailand, so I will not be visiting Kunming, " said Minister Rijal. “Instead of me, Secretary at the Ministry of Industry, Commerce Madhu Marasini will represent us from the ministry.

Under the theme “Solidarity and Cooperation for Common Development", the Nepali delegation will embark on the visit on August 14 and will return on August 22, according to sources. They said a Cabinet meeting, probably on Tuesday, will approve the Kunming visit. The expo will be held from August 16 to 20.

Former vice presidents Nanda Bahadur Pun and Parmananda Jha had also attended the Kunming expo in previous years. In 2016, Pun had attended the fourth China-South Asia Exposition and the 24th China Kunming Import and Export Fair.

“The Chinese had halted the exhibition after the Covid pandemic, but have now resumed it from this year,” a senior foreign ministry official said.

Meanwhile, preparations are underway for the visit. Since there is no direct flight from Kathmandu to Kunming, the organisers have arranged for a special flight for the Nepali delegation, said sources familiar with the developments. Once the cabinet approves the visit, a formal announcement will be made.

Vice president Yadav will lead an eight-member delegation. There will be a separate delegation of each minister and secretary and Mayor of Pokhara city. The event is an international comprehensive exposition, jointly organised by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China and the People’s Government of the Yunnan Province, Sichuan Province, Chongqing Municipality, Guizhou Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Tibet Autonomous Region and the Chengdu Municipality.

Nepal’s ambassador to China Bishnu Pukar Shrestha, who is stationed in Beijing, will also attend the event. “I will be flying to Kunming,” Shrestha told the Post.

According to the Yunnan Commercial Representative Office in Kathmandu, the expo opens up huge opportunities for Nepali businesses and the trading community. It informed that a delegation of around 100 businessmen and traders from Nepal are participating in this year’s event. They have already booked the stalls. Nepali traders mostly sell tea and coffee, pashmina, handicraft items, and other products at the fair.

After the completion of the expo, a team of vice governors of Yunnan Province, led by Wang Hao is scheduled to visit Kathmandu, sources said.