Nepal's new Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is leaving for China on his first official foreign visit. According to a Kathmandu Post report, Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang has invited Oli for an official visit from December 2 to 6.
According to the report, on November 5, the Chinese ambassador extended this invitation to Nepal's foreign secretary Lamasal. It has been a tradition in Nepal that the new Prime Minister visits India first.
Oli's close advisers told The Kathmandu Post that he hoped India would continue the tradition, but four months after taking charge, there has been no formal invitation from India. Usually the Prime Minister of Nepal receives an invitation from New Delhi soon after assuming office.
KP Sharma Oli first came to India as Prime Minister in February 2016. Meanwhile, PM Modi welcomed him.
Oli came to India after becoming PM for the first time KP Oli became the PM of Nepal for the first time in August 2015. After this he visited India in February 2016. A month later in March, he went to China. Oli has been the PM of Nepal four times so far.
He was in office for 10 months in 2015, 40 months in 2018 and three months in 2021. Oli took oath as PM on July 4 this year.
However, Oli took several anti-India measures in his previous tenure. It was during his time that the Nepal government released the disputed map. Apart from this, he also made many anti-India statements. This time it is believed that the reason behind not sending an invitation to KP Sharma Oli is that there has been a change in India's policies towards Nepal.
Oli's visit to China was scheduled for September At the same time, Foreign Minister Arzoo Rana has canceled his visit to Azerbaijan after an official invitation from China. He was scheduled to attend the United Nations Climate Change Summit from November 11 to 22, but will now be replaced by President Ramchandra Paudel.
According to senior Ministry of External Affairs officials, Prime Minister Oli has requested the External Affairs Minister to stay in the country and prepare for his visit to China.
According to reports, KP Sharma Oli met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in New York. Meanwhile, Wang told him that he was ready to welcome him in December.
Airport built on Chinese loan, now you can appeal for loan waiver The Kathmandu Post quoted officials as saying that PM Oli will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping and Li Qiang during the visit. In the meantime, Oli will try to get the Chinese government to waive the loan given to Nepal. China has given a loan of about 17 thousand crore rupees for Pokhara International Airport.
According to the report, earlier on August 23, Nepal's Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel also appealed to China to waive the loan. He said that Pokhara International Airport is not earning enough to pay the debt to China.
Pokhara International Airport was completed in January 2023. Initially international flights were operated from here, but due to lack of passengers it was limited to domestic flights.
Apart from this, Oli may also discuss the BRI project during this visit. There is controversy over its implementation in Nepal. The Nepali Congress, an ally in the government, was opposing the expensive loan from China. But now he is quiet on this matter. Earlier the mighty government had refrained from taking loans from BRI, but now the current government is insisting on extending it.
According to reports, an agreement on the BRI project was signed between Nepal and China in 2017, but even after 7 years, no project has yet started in Nepal. In fact, the previous government wanted China to give money to Nepal in the form of financial assistance instead of loans, but China was refusing this.
According to a Finance Ministry official, China fears that if it gives this concession to Nepal, other countries will also start demanding loan waivers from it.
The tradition of PM visiting India started 64 years ago
With Prime Minister of Nepal Koirala Jawaharlal Nehru.
According to the BBC, India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru first extended an invitation to Nepal's Prime Minister Bisheswar Prasad Koirala to participate in the Republic Day celebrations on January 26, 1960. At that time, India had given assistance of 18 crore rupees to Nepal. Koirala also visited China in April this year and met Chinese leader Mao Zedong.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
