Nepal proposes for preferrential treatment of its products in China

KATHMANDU, APRIL 9:  The 15th meeting of the Bilateral Diplomatic Consultation Mechanism between the Foreign Ministries of Nepal and the People’s Republic of China was held in Beijing of China recently. Bharat Raj Paudyal, Foreign Secretary and Sun Weidong, Vice Minister of the Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China, led their respective delegations to the meeting.

During the meeting, both sides took stock of the existing Nepal-China bilateral relations and cooperation and deliberated on the ways to further expand and consolidate mutual cooperation in various areas like agriculture, tourism, trade, investment, etc. 

The meeting also reviewed the progress of different infrastructure development projects under China’s grant assistance as well as Chinese-contracted projects and agreed to expedite the implementation of the projects so as to complete them in time.

With a view to reducing the trade deficit, Foreign Secretary Paudyal proposed for the preferential treatment of Nepali primary products such as tea, coffee, herbal products, cooked buffalo meat, and other agricultural products. The Chinese side agreed to encourage Chinese investors to make investments in mutually beneficial areas.

The Foreign Secretary of Nepal appreciated the Government of China for enlisting Nepal as one of the outbound destination countries for group tourism. The two sides discussed on promoting people-to-people contacts and cultural cooperation, increasing the number of scholarships to Nepali students and professionals, and capacity development of technical experts, among others.

On the occasion, the two sides reviewed the cooperation between the two countries at the multilateral forums, including in the United Nations, and exchange of mutual support to each other’s candidatures. They also discussed the importance of the implementation of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the usefulness of the GDI to promote the SDG agenda.

In the meeting,  Paudyal was accompanied by  Bishnu Pukar Shrestha, Ambassador of Nepal to the People’s Republic of China,  Lok Bahadur Thapa, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal and other officials of the Ministry and Embassy of Nepal in Beijing. Likewise, the Chinese delegation comprised senior officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.