The China proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is an economic pie, given its immense scale and multi-faceted layers of cooperation among all partners.
The BRI ensures deeper cooperation and synergy effects to the participating countries, with China in the lead role. For sure, the BRI has brought people closer, with economic integration and robust infrastructure for their shared brighter future beyond their national boundaries.
The large scale participation in the BRI, including G7 member country Italy to the least developed countries, has not only made this forum inclusive, but has also given hope to the resolution of development bottlenecks through collaborative efforts.
Nepal, as a part of BRI, is no exception to this. Nepal formally joined the BRI in 2017 by signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) during the premiership of Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’. The country firmly believes that such a visionary approach offers opportunities for collaboration, partnership and cooperation for mutual benefits.
Also, a large section of policymakers, diplomats, development workers and officials believe that there remains a high chance for collaboration in propelling the country’s economy by creating a system of value-chains for mutual advantages once some projects under the BRI framework were brought into operation.
With such aspirations, Nepal’s President Bidya Devi Bhandari is paying a state visit to China at the invitation of President Xi Jinping, to attend the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation and the opening ceremony of the 2019 International Horticultural Exhibition in Beijing from April 24 to May 2.
This is the first time that Nepal’s head of state will visit Beijing since Nepal abolished the monarchy 12 years ago. According to a press briefing of Nepal’s Foreign Affairs Ministry, President Bhandari will hold talks with President Xi to strike deals on key and mutually beneficial cooperation agreements.
Nepal is hopeful of getting China’s support to meet its huge financing gap for building more physical infrastructure. Besides China’s neighborly gesture, Chinese FDI and collaboration for bilateral investment cooperation remain equally high.