The Chinese government has decided to provide 1.4 million litres of fuel worth RMB10 million to Nepal in grant, said Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Kamal Thapa.

Earlier in October, China donated 1.3 million litres of petrol to Nepal to cope with a severe fuel crisis created by India’s unofficial border blockade. Nepal Oil Corporation had brought the fuel granted by the northern neighbour from Kerung.

A commercial deal to import fuel from China is expected to be signed in the near future, which will end a four-decade monopoly of India to export oil to Nepal. “We have cleared the way to import fuel from China on a permanent basis,” said Thapa, who arrived from China on Tuesday wrapping up a weeklong visit.

Thapa added that the Chinese leadership had given a go-ahead for an agreement while issues such as tax exemption, price and transportation will be settled by the concerned agencies of the two countries. An NOC team is still in China for negotiations with the Chinese supplier.

DPM Thapa clarified that his visit was not aimed at signing a fuel deal with China. “Both the sides instructed their concerned agencies to remove the obstruction in importing fuel from China,” he added. Nepal signed its first ever fuel agreement with China on October 28.

Thapa said his visit was successful in creating a long-term economic framework with China that involves trade, transit, connectivity and investment. The framework would be signed during the China visit of Prime Minister KP Oli in the first half of 2016. Thapa claimed that there will be a high-level visit from China in the upcoming year.

During PM Oli’s visit, Nepal could sign a trade and transit treaty with China, bilateral investment protection and promotion agreement, free trade agreement, government to government deal to import fuel from China and opening more trade routes to the north.

In Beijing, Foreign Minister Thapa met his Chinese counterpart and the Chinese Vice President.