Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who left for Tianjin, China on Saturday morning, is meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping today.

The prime minister left for China on a five-day visit to participate in the 25th Summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and the SCO Plus meeting, to be held from August 31 to September 1.

This is the second visit of Prime Minister Oli to China within a year. He paid an official visit to China in December last year.

According to the itinerary of the visit, Oli will meet Xi at Tianjin Guest House for 20 minutes.

The two leaders are expected to discuss bilateral issues, implementation of the past agreements and understandings signed between Nepal and China in several high-level visits in the past, Nepal’s desire to become Dialogue Partner in the SCO as well as other issues of mutual interest, said officials privy to the development.

Attending the meeting alongside Prime Minister Oli are: Nepali Congress Vice President Purna Bahadur Khadka; Education Minister Raghuji Pant; Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Pandey; Yuba Raj Khatiwada, economic and development advisor to the prime minister; lawmaker Chhabilal Bishwakarma; Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai; Nepal’s Ambassador to China Krishna Prasad Oli; and Joint Secretary Bhrigu Dhungana.

After meeting the Chinese President, Oli does not have any official engagement on Saturday.

On Sunday, the prime minister and Nepali delegation will visit the Rice Core Planting Area, Huiguan Village, Tianjin and Zhou Enlai and Deng Yingchao Memorial Museum.

Later in the afternoon, the prime minister will hold bilateral meetings with Prime Minister of Vietnam Phạm Minh Chính, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu and will attend a welcome banquet and gala performance hosted by the Chinese President Xi.

But Prime Minister Oli is not meeting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.

Speaking in the House of Representatives on Friday, the prime minister gave details of his bilateral engagements during the SCO Summit and its sidelines where he is meeting Chinese President Xi, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and leaders from several other countries.

According to the details provided by the prime minister in the House, so far, bilateral meetings have been confirmed with Russian President Putin, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Hun Manet, Laotian Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone, and Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chính.

As the final event of the visit, on September 3, alongside other world leaders, the Nepali delegation will participate in the 80th anniversary event commemorating the victory of the Chinese armed resistance against Japan.