Development, peace treaty on FM’s China visit agenda

Minister for Foreign Affairs Upendra Yadav is leaving for China on a six-day visit on Saturday.

The visit is aimed at preparing groundwork for Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's second China visit, later this month.

Officials at the Foreign Ministry said the date for Prime Minister's official visit to China is likely to be fixed during this trip. The foreign minister is scheduled to hold talks with his Chinese counterpart Yang Jeichi and other top leaders from April 7-8, said Joint-Secretary at the Foreign Ministry Suresh Pradhan.

An aide to Yadav said China-proposed Peace and Friendship Treaty, political issues, hydropower generation, infrastructure development, tourism and agricultural development will figure in the talks.

Likewise, trade imbalance, border and visa problems are also on the agenda of the foreign minister.

During the visit to Nepal in the end of February, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Hu Zhengyue had proposed that Nepal and China enter into Peace and Friendship Treaty keeping in view with the changed political context. Presenting a draft of the treaty, Hu had proposed that the two countries enter into the treaty during Dahal's official China visit.

However, officials, citing lack of adequate homework, say the proposed treaty will not be signed during Dahal's upcoming visit.

"During meetings with Chinese diplomats, the prime minister has been maintaining that discussions on the draft treaty are going on at the political level," a source said. The government should win a two-third majority from the parliament before signing such treaties.

Foreign Minister Yadav will leave for Lhasa on Saturday and is scheduled to hold talks with officials at Siyang, Hong Kong and Sanghai. From China, Yadav will leave for Indonesia, where he will attend the ministerial-level conference on the Bali Process scheduled for April 14-15. He is scheduled to return on April 17