KATHMANDU: As part of Beijing's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Nepal and China have inked a six-point agreement to deepen their cooperation and exchanges on governance, lawmaking, and oversight procedures.

At a ceremony held on Monday night at the Federal Parliament Building in Kathmandu, Li Zhanshu, the Chairman of the Standing Committee of China's NPC, and Parliament Speaker Agni Prasad Sapkota signed the agreement.
The two parties will share details about one another's legislative, oversight, and governance methods, as per the agreement.

Li is in Kathmandu for a four-day business trip at Sapkota's invitation.

Sapkota and Li met at the delegation level as soon as Li arrived in Kathmandu in the midst of a 67-person group. The two then signed the agreement. The BRI, a large-scale initiative supported by China, is also included in the MoU between the two Parliaments.
Although Nepal and China signed the BRI in 2017, there has been little real development in the past five years.
The fifth point of the MoU said that the two governments will give priority to and promote the promotion of the relations, mutual advantages, and obligations between the two nations, including through the BRI.

According to the Kathmandu Foreign Ministry, the two leaders conducted conversations on a variety of topics of shared interest while also expressing their delight over the great status of the two countries' bilateral relations and collaboration.

In the meeting, Sapkota reaffirmed Nepal's dedication to the "One China" Policy and its refusal to permit any activity hostile to Beijing on its soil.

According to the Foreign Ministry, Li reaffirmed China's unwavering support for Nepal's territorial integrity, independence, and sovereignty.

Sapkota expressed gratitude to the Chinese people and government for their kind assistance and collaboration in the Himalayan country's development efforts and expressed the hope that Beijing would increase its level of support for post-pandemic recovery and other development initiatives.

He said by expressing gratitude on behalf of the people and government of Nepal to the Chinese government for providing a sizable quantity of medical supplies, equipment, and vaccines during the epidemic.
According to a statement from the Ministry, "during the meeting, both sides agreed to further strengthen inter-parliamentary exchanges and cooperation and highlighted the role of Parliamentary Friendship Group in each other's parliament in further promoting goodwill and understanding between the two legislatures."

Li also pledged to support the Nepali Parliament in accordance with its institutional needs and requirements. As per the statement, the two diplomats also discussed how crucial it is to put connectivity infrastructures in place, especially those funded by the BRI.

The Chinese side gave an assurance that it would take the necessary action to close the growing trade gaps between the two nations and to encourage its businesspeople to invest in Nepal, particularly in sectors that support the livelihood of the Nepalese people, at the request of the delegation from Nepal.

In a similar vein, both parties have pledged to intensify collaboration on issues of shared concern within the framework of international and regional parliamentary organisations, particularly the Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Li will meet with Ganesh Timilsina, the head of the National Assembly, at the parliament building on Tuesday, the second day of his visit, after discussions with KP Sharma Oli, the head of the CPN-UML, and Pushpa Kamal Dahal, the head of the CPN (Maoist Centre).

Later, Li will receive a visit from Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka at the Hotel Soaltee. After that, he will have another meeting with Prime Minister Deuba to talk about deepening bilateral ties between China and Nepal.
The Chinese delegation will visit Bhaktapur Durbar Square on Wednesday and meet with President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

On Thursday, the delegation will wrap up its journey to Nepal and depart for South Korea. Li represents China's third high-level visit since the current government's creation in July of last year.

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