KATHMANDU, AUGUST 30

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli left for Tianjin, China, on Saturday to attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit 2025 at the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Oli is leading a 23-member Nepali delegation, including his spouse Radhika Shakya, Minister for Education Raghuji Pant, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey, lawmakers, advisors, and senior officials, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

He was seen off at Tribhuvan International Airport by Deputy Prime Minister Prakashman Singh, Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak, Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba, and Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal. A contingent of the Nepal Army offered a guard of honour before his departure.

During the visit, the Prime Minister will address the SCO Plus Summit on September 1 and hold bilateral meetings with several world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu, Cambodian PM Hun Manet, Lao PM Sonexay Siphandone, and Vietnamese PM Pham Minh Chinh. He will also meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Tianjin and Vice President Han Zheng in Beijing on September 2.

The PM is also scheduled to participate in the commemorative events in Beijing marking the 80th Anniversary of the Victory of the Chinese People's War of Resistance on September 3. Prime Minister Oli and his delegation are scheduled to return to Kathmandu the same day.

In Oli's absence, Deputy Prime Minister and Urban Development Minister Prakash Man Singh has been designated as the acting Prime Minister.

Nepal has been a dialogue partner of the SCO since 2016. Established in 2001, the organization has grown into one of the world's largest regional groupings, with China, Russia, India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Iran, and Belarus as full members. Afghanistan and Mongolia hold observer status, while Nepal shares dialogue partner status with Turkey, Sri Lanka, and several other Asian and Middle Eastern nations.