During Nepal Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka's visit to Qingdao at the head of a 11-member
delegation and meeting with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on August 11, China and Nepal agreed to start work on a trans-Himalayan connectivity network that may see the
realization of a cross-border railway. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Khadka that
China will fund a feasibility study on a China-Nepal railway and send experts to Nepal to
conduct surveys later this year. The plans fall under the Belt and Road Initiative, to which
Nepal has been a signatory since 2017. A press release issued by Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign
Affairs said Khadka and Yi discussed enhancing, among other things, “bilateral trade,
connectivity network, health, tourism, agriculture, education”. It added that China will also
fund and provide equipment for Covid control mechanism in Nepal. Sources, however, said
Beijing also assured Nepal it would provide 800 million RMB (118 million USD) grant for the
current financial year, for projects of Kathmandu’s preference. This will be in addition to the
RMB 3. 5 billion promised by Xi Jinping during his visit to Nepal in October 2019.
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