KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has left for an official visit to China today at the invitation of Premier of the People’s Republic of China Li Keqiang.

According to Assistant Spokesperson and Information Officer at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ram Babu Dhakal, the Prime Minister is accompanied by his spouse, Radhika Shakya, Minister for Home Affairs Ram Bahadur Thapa, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Barsha Man Pun, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Raghubir Mahaseth, Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister Bishnu Rimal, Members of Parliament, high-ranking government officials, representatives of private sector and mediapersons.

An official at the Tribhuvan International Airport informed that a charter flight of Himalaya Airlines carrying the Nepali delegation took off at 9:09 am. He added that PM and his delegation team would arrive in Beijing by 2:30 pm today.

During the visit, Prime Minister Oli is scheduled to hold bilateral talks with his Chinese counterpart while he will also call on senior Chinese leaders, Dhakal said. He further added that the PM would address Nepal-China Business Forum and think-tanks in Beijing.

The two countries will also sign some agreements and memorandum of understandings (MoUs). Bilateral discussions will be held and MoUs signed on matters relating to infrastructure development, investment, energy, tourism among other sectors under the one belt one road initiative, said Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi. "The major objective of the visit is to further deepen bilateral relations and cooperation," he said.

Prime Minister Oli is also scheduled to visit Lhasa, the capital city of Tibet Autonomous Region of China, where he will meet with the provincial leaders. The Prime Minister and the delegation will return home on June 24.

Earlier, during consultations with former prime ministers, the PM told that Nepal’s bilateral relations with China would reach a new height after his visit to the northern neighbour.

Likewise, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali had told the meeting that during PM’s China visit, efforts would be made to seek China’s assistance for laying transmission lines, to enhance bilateral cooperation in the energy sector, and to prepare detailed project report of the railway lines to be built from Keirung to Kathmandu, and from Kathmandu to Pokhara with Chinese assistance.

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