Minister Yi to prepare ground for Xi Jinping’s Nepal visit

Kathmandu, September 4

Chinese Foreign Minister and State Councillor Wang Yi is arriving in Kathmandu on Sunday, on a two-day visit as part of preparation for Chinese President Xi Jinping’s ‘yet-to-be-confirmed’ sojourn to Nepal, government sources said.

Wang Yi will be arriving in Kathmandu from Pakistan where he is scheduled to attend Pakistan-Afghanistan-China trilateral meeting on Saturday. He is visiting Nepal at the invitation of Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.

During his stay in Nepal, Yi is scheduled to hold bilateral meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, and pay courtesy call on President Bidhya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has yet to officially confirm Yi’s Nepal visit, his schedule and agenda for the bilateral meeting. Government sources said the talks would mainly focus on implementation of past agreements, including projects under the Chinese-led Belt and Road Initiative. “Basically, the visit is taking place in the run-up to Presidnet Jinping’s planned visit to Nepal,” said a source. President Jinping’s is likely to visit Nepal in mid-October on his way back home from his visit to India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will be hosting President Jinping in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu, on October 11-13, for the second India-China informal summit between the two leaders, according to Indian news portal www.thehindu.com.

The first informal summit between the leaders was held in Wuhan, China, on April 27-28 last year. As the government intensifies preparations to welcome President Jinping, all three security agencies, including the Nepal Police, Armed Police Force and Nepali Army, have boosted coordination to ensure high-level security for the VVIP guest, according to a security official. “All three security agencies and the Ministry of Home Affairs are continuously holding meetings to leave no stone unturned as far as security to the VVIP is concerned,” said the security official.