No loan-related agreements during China visit, says PM Oli

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has stated that there will be no loan-related agreements during his official visit to China, scheduled to begin on December 2.

In a discussion with former prime ministers and foreign ministers regarding his upcoming China visit today, PM Oli asserted that the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is not a loan project and that taking or not taking a loan with China is not a matter of dispute at the moment.

“If necessary, we can take loans or grants from any country and body based on national interest. We should not indulge in unnecessary rumours that loans are being taken. We have a long and friendly relationship with China. This visit is being planned to make the friendship between the two countries more multi-dimensional,” PM Oli asserted. “No matter which country we visit first, we give top priority to the national interest, including the sovereignty, independence and freedom of the country, as well as international interests. That is why this visit will be successful. There is no point in spreading confusion that there is a dispute between the ruling Nepali Congress and CPN (UML) over the China visit. We will not do anything except for world peace and the interests of Nepal. I urge you to be confident in this.”

The Prime Minister informed that preparations have been made to discuss the effective implementation of past agreements and agreements for the expansion of transmission lines, Nepal’s production exports to China, and other cooperation issues during his visit to China. He clarified that Nepal has similar friendly relations with India as well, and stressed that the benefits of the friendly relations between the two countries should be taken in a way that benefits Nepal’s economic development.

PM Oli urged that no one should take such issues as a ‘card’ against any country, as the official visit of the premier of Nepal will be based on the needs and decisions of the country.

In the discussion, former Prime Minister and CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal mentioned that he had broken tradition by visiting China in the past and clarified that he had made the statement not with the intention of trying to play the China card but with the political ups and downs of the country. Dahal emphasised the effective implementation of the agreements made with China when he was the prime minister last year.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Arzu Rana Deuba said that the ruling parties are working to finalise the agendas at the prime minister level and asserted that there is no dispute between the two parties on this issue.

Former ministers Jhala Nath Khanal and Madhav Kumar Nepal, former Chair of the Council of Ministers Khil Raj Regmi, former foreign ministers Ishwar Pokharel, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Bhesh Bahadur Thapa, NP Saud, Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Prakash Chandra Lohani, Bimala Rai Paudyal, and others participated in the discussion.