Nepal, China to hold bilateral diplomatic consultation in Beijing

KATHAMANDU: The 15th meeting of the bilateral diplomatic consultation mechanism between the foreign ministries of Nepal and China will be held today in Beijing, EPardafas reported. For the meeting, Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal will lead Nepal's delegation.

The delegation has already arrived in China for the meeting. China's Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Sun Weidong will lead the Chinese delegation, according to the news report.

Various issues of bilateral relations are expected to be discussed between the foreign ministries of Nepal and China, as per the EPardafas report. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, border, security and several other issues will be discussed in the meeting.

China seeks to hold a discussion on the Global Security Initiative (GSI), a new security architecture floated by Beijing and wants Nepal's support.

As per the news report, there is no possibility that a discussion will be held on this matter in the meeting. On February 21, China released the concept paper of the GSI plan. China seeks Nepal's support in the plan, however, Nepal has been denying it.

Nepal has time and again conveyed to Beijing that it cannot be part or back the Global Security Initiative (GSI). In the meeting, discussions will be held on China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and Global Development Initiative (GDI), EPardafas reported. In 2017, Nepal signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on the BRI framework agreement. However, so far, no project under BRI has started in Nepal.

China has claimed that the international airport in Pokhara has been built under BRI. However, Nepal has built the airport on its own and has taken a loan for its construction. The meeting between China and Nepal will include a discussion on border management issues.

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has not allowed the border to be fully functional with Nepal. The checkpoints at Humla and other places are completely blocked. Meanwhile, the contracts received by Chinese firms are operating at a very slow pace, as per the EPardafas report.