PM Oli in Beijing for a weeklong visit to the northern neighbour

Beijing/Kathmandu, March 20

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli today reached Beijing for a week-long official visit at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang.

The PM is scheduled to return home on March 27.

Prime Minister Oli was received by the Vice Minister of Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nepal’s Ambassador to China Mahesh Kumar Maskey and high-ranking officials of Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassy at the Beijing International Airport.

The prime minister-led delegation that flew off to Beijing from Kathmandu at 11.00am landed in China at 6.20pm. The Nepali delegation arrived here through the Himalaya Airlines aircraft.

Prime Minister Oli is accompanied by his spouse Radhika Shakya, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa, Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel, Education Minister Girirajmani Pokharel, Commerce Minister Deepak Bohara, PM’s political adviser Bishnu Rimal, lawmakers as well as business and media representatives.

Prime Minister Oli will stay at the Diaoyutai State Guest House in Beijing this evening. He is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on Chinese President Xi Jinping tomorrow.

The bilateral official talks between Nepal and China are set to take place at the Great Hall of the People on Monday and signing ceremony of some bilateral significant agreements and memoranda of understanding is to be conducted there.

The PM will also hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang during his stay.

Meanwhile, President Bidhya Devi Bhandari assigned the senior-most Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Bijaya Kumar Gachhadar to perform daily administrative functions of the prime minister in the absence of Oli. PM Oli, who is the chairperson of CPN-UML, designated party Vice-Chair Bamdev Gautam as acting chair till he returns from China visit.

There are 90 members in the PM’s entourage, including businesspersons.