Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said India and China are essential part of Nepal’s foreign policy and the country’s foreign policy priorities begin from its neighbourhood.

As you prepare to go aboard, we have to cross India or China either via land or through sky; he said speaking after releasing a book on ‘Nepal-China relations’ at an event held at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Baluwatar on Monday.

The book comprises 25 articles on foreign relations. It includes articles by Prime Minister Oli, former PM Madhav Kumar Nepal and six former ambassadors among others. Dr Anjan Shakya edited the book published by International Concern Centre.

Prime Minister Oli said relations with all the friendly nations would be based on equality. “We emphasise on friendship, our policy is of friendship, and hence it cannot be unequal and unbalanced. It will be equal,” he said.

We have good relations with both India and China, and the government wants to deepen and strengthen its relations with both neighbours, said the prime minister. We are clear in our foreign policy, Oli said, our foreign policy is based on mutual friendship and not imbalanced to any country.  The fundamentals of our foreign policy are to safeguard our national interests. If someone dishonours us, we will not tolerate, he said.

Slamming the recent report released by the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) on discriminatory provision of Nepali constitution, the PM said, “Give us freedom to work and feed. If possible, please assist us otherwise do not tie our hands. This is not my personal aspiration, but all Nepali citizens think in this way.”

No one in this world is equal in all terms, the PM said, we want to live in peace and want to spread harmony, but we want to end discrimination and inequality too. “Efforts to disturb social relations shall not be tolerated”, he said. Efforts would continue to minimise inequality and end discrimination, he added.

Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said international relations should be expanded in a balanced manner. He said relations between the Nepal and China would gain new height in the days to come.

Former Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala said Nepal and China have always enjoyed profound relations and that China has never interfered in Nepal’s internal affairs.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong said the Belt and Road Initiative is a fine opportunity to expand China-Nepal relations and mutual collaboration.