Proposed ambassador to China Krishna Prasad Oli has said that he will push forward with Nepal’s decisions for implementing the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects.

During his parliamentary hearing on Sunday, Oli outlined his action plan if confirmed as ambassador.

“I would work to arrange high-level visits between Nepal and China during my stay as ambassador,” Oli said when asked by parliamentarians about his strategy for strengthening bilateral relations.

He further said Nepal can move forward by leveraging the Trnas-Himalayan connectivity to enhance North-South connectivity.

He expressed his commitment to attracting more Chinese tourists to Nepal. “With 21 percent of the Chinese population being Buddhists, I will work to encourage them to visit Nepal.”

He also pledged to work for the effective operation of the Tatopani customs point, which has been struggling since the April 2015 earthquakes.

Before the earthquakes, Nepal’s exports to China were thriving. Nepal used to send handicrafts, herbs, noodles and hundreds of other goods to Khasa, Shigatse, and Lhasa in Tibet.

On Sunday, the parliamentary hearing committee questioned four of the 17 proposed ambassadors. Apart from Oli, the committee interviewed Shankar Prasad Sharma for India, Sumnima Tuladhar for Denmark and Shail Rupakheti for Germany.

Sharma, the proposed ambassador to India, also submitted his action plan during the hearing. Previously, Sharma served as Nepali ambassador to India until the UML-Maoist coalition government decided to recall him. However, following the formation of the Nepali Congress-UML coalition last month, the government decided to reappoint Sharma as ambassador to India.

Despite being the immediate past ambassador, Sharma is required to undergo the full parliamentary hearing process for reappointment.

In his action plan, Sharma has pledged to promote the Buddhist-Ramayana circuit, enhance cross-border financial transactions, and attract investments in hydropower, tourism, infrastructure, and agriculture, among other sectors.

He also promised to work to expedite the Pancheshwar Hydropower Project. Sharma, meanwhile,

Regarding the confusion over the report prepared by the Eminent Persons’ Group (EPG) which the Indian government has expressed unwillingness to accept, and Nepal-India border issues, Sharma told the committee that said those issues are beyond his purview.

Nepal and India had formed an eight-member EPG panel in 2016 to review bilateral relations and recommend a way forward.

The elite panel also discussed the 1950 Treaty of Peace and Friendship, which many Nepalis consider unequal. Although the EPG completed a joint report in July 2018, Narendra Modi’s government has expressed its reluctance to receive the report.

“Matters related to the EPG and boundary have gone beyond my purview,’’ committee member told the Post quoting Sharma. “Therefore these must be decided at the highest levels.”

Rupakheti, the proposed ambassador to Germany, in his action plan has promised to strengthen economic relations between the two countries. His priorities include promoting export, attracting investment, and facilitating technology transfer.

Tuladhar, the proposed ambassador to Denmark, said that she would focus on playing a diplomatic role in Nepal’s economic development and advancing the country’s tourism sector.