KATHMANDU: Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal left Kathmandu on Thursday late night for Boao in Hainan Province of China to take part in the Boao Forum for Asia annual conference.

Prime Minister Dahal was seen off at the Tribhuvan International Airport by Deputy Prime Ministers Bimalendra Nidhi and Kamal Thapa, ministers, heads of constitutional bodies, high-ranking government officials, the Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong and representatives of diplomatic missions.

On the occasion, a contingent of the Nepali Army presented a guard of honours to the PM.

Prime Minister Dahal is accompanied by his spouse Sita Dahal, Foreign Minister Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat, Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and other high-ranking officials of the Ministry.

PM Dahal is attending the event at the invitation of the Forum's General-Secretary Zhou Wenzhong.

PM Dahal is scheduled to hold a meeting with the Deputy-Prime Minister of China, Zhang Gaoli on March 24 and is expected to discuss the matters of mutual interests. Similarly, PM Dahal will address the inaugural session of the Forum on March 25. He will leave for Beijing the same afternoon.

During his visit, PM Dahal will pay a courtesy call on Chinese President Xi Jinping and would hold discussions to further cement and expand the Nepal-China mutual relations.

Furthermore, PM Dahal is scheduled to address a programme 'Nepal-China Relations: Prospects for Growth and Prosperity' as a keynote speaker on March 26 to be organised by Beijing Foreign Studies University.

The PM will hold discussion with Chinese business communities and will inaugurate Nepal Study Centre to be established at the premises of the University on the same day.

Likewise, the Nepali delegation led by the PM would reach Lhasa of Tibet, the autonomous region of China, on March 28.

Discussions will be held with leaders of Tibetan government focusing on the issue of making the existing bilateral mechanism at local level between Nepal and Tibetan government more active.

PM Dahal is scheduled to return home on March 29.