DPM Shrestha meets Chinese FM Wang; nepal commits to execute of BRi soon

Deputy Prime Minister Narayankaji Shrestha, who is on a nine-day visit to China, held a bilateral meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on Tuesday, March 26. Before the formal bilateral meeting, Shrestha and Wang held a one-on-one meeting for one hour.

During the meeting, they discussed bilateral relations and agreed to complete the Chinese projects under construction in Nepal timely.

The Chinese side asked Nepal for early execution of the projects under BRI, and the Nepali side expressed its commitment to it. Although the Nepal side was committed to implementing the projects under the Belt and Road Initiatives (BRI), which were signed earlier, the two leaders discussed the implementation modality of the projects being constructed under BRI. Earlier, Prime Minister Pushpakamal Dahal had expressed the commitment to start projects under BRI, for which, Minister Shrestha’s China visit was set.

Earlier, in the process of finalizing the deal, PM Dahal had asked Minister for Physical Infrastructure and

Transportation, Raghubir Mahaseth, to submit a proposal at the cabinet meeting, however, Mahaseth took a stance, saying that the projects cannot be constructed by taking loans.

Later, Dahal asked Finance Minister Barshaman Pun to submit a proposal to the cabinet and finalize the BRI deal.

Meanwhile, PM Dahal dropped the idea, saying that the interest rate on loans should be reduced to one percent. It is said that the interest rate on the Chinese loans is from 2 to 3 percent and PM Dahal wanted to convert the projects to be constructed under BRI to a grant, otherwise, the interest rates should be reduced to one percent. Due to Nepal’s stance, the projects under BRI have been impending for the past seven years.