Kathmandu, November 30:

Foreign Minister Sahana Pradhan requested a Chinese delegation, which arrived here this morning, to link Nepal with the Chinese rail network through Lhasa.

Talking to reporters after a meeting with the delegation led by Minister for International Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, Wang Jiarui, Pradhan said, “The extension of the railway to Nepal will help in the economic development of Nepal.”

Pradhan said China plans to extend the rail network from Lhasa to Sigatse of Tibet within three years. Saying that Chinese ambassador to Nepal has been requested for the extension of the network to Nepal, Pradhan said the Chinese side has been responding positively to the request. The extension of the network will also facilitate the import of petroleum products from China, she added.

Pradhan also urged the delegation to grant observer status to Nepal in the Shanghai Cooperation, a group of industrial nations including China. She told the delegation that Nepal will continue to support the one-China policy.

Pradhan also urged China to provide more support for Nepal’s peace process and development.