Xi’s visit to Nepal of historic significance: Nepali Foreign Minister

By Sun Guangyong, Zhao Yipu, Lin Rui, People's Daily

Nepal's Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said in a recent interview that the upcoming visit of Chinese President to Nepal is of historic significance and the Nepali people attach very high priority to the long awaited visit.

Gyawali believes the visit of Xi will enhance understanding and mutual political trust between the two countries and be helpful in exploring new areas of cooperation for mutual benefits.

Nepal and China are close neighbors linked by culture and geography, said Gyawali, adding that under the visionary leaderships of the two countries, the bilateral relations have been maintained and developed over the course of time.

He noted that Nepal has always considered China a good friend and trustworthy partner, and the two countries share common views on various matters concerning peace and stability in the region. Their collective efforts might help promote a more peaceful environment in the region, Gyawali added.

This year marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and Gyawali congratulated China on its miraculous development. "Any time I visit China, I find the great nation being transformed in an amazing way for the betterment of its people as well as for the common good of the whole humanity," said Gyawali.

Gyawali also said that Nepal, as a close neighbor, thinks high of China’s development.

The Foreign Minister pointed out that Nepal appreciates the far-sighted vision of Xi to build a community of shared future for mankind through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The initiative lays emphasis on boosting connectivity, developing infrastructure, connecting markets and enhancing cooperation among nations in diverse sectors in the region and beyond.

Nepal is more than willing to push forward the construction of trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network under the BRI framework and establish a closer connection of destiny with China.

As Gyawali said, history speaks that human civilization has prospered at a time when human cooperation has flourished. Based on the vision of shared future of humanity, BRI offers a comfortable platform for win-win cooperation among the countries. This model of inclusive development certainly will play an important role for stability and prosperity of South Asia and Asia at large, said him.

Nepal has embarked on its journey of development and prosperity. "We have a lot to learn from the success story of China and utilize it in our favor," said Gyawali, "China has been our most important development partner. We would like to enhance our cooperation with China in order to achieve our national aspiration of 'Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepalis'."