Prachanda meets Xi, calls meeting 'fruitful'

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', who is on a six-day visit to China, held a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on Monday.

Prachanda later called the meeting with Xi "fruitful" and said "this kind of high-level meeting has added a new dimension to Nepal-China ties", according to a statement published on the Prime Minister's website.

Describing his discussions with Xi at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing as "exciting, open and clear", Prachanda said he received a positive response from the Chinese President on all the issues he raised, reported the Kathmandu Post.

"Apart from the positive response, the Chinese President talked about Nepal's political stability, development, prosperity and infrastructure development," said the Prime Minister on the website.

Prachanda also asked Xi to reopen the Tatopani border point, a major trading point between Nepal and China, which was closed following the April 2015 Nepal earthquake.

In response, the Chinese President told the Nepal Prime Minister that China was serious about opening Tatopani and other border points, The Himalayan Times reported.

Both the leaders also discussed the construction of a railway line in Nepal with Chinese investment.

Xi also pledged 9 million yuan ($1,308,800) aid to Nepal for the local level elections scheduled for May 14.

Besides, both the sides agreed to cooperate more in jointly building the Belt and Road project.

Both sides are expected to promote cooperation in connectivity, free trade arrangements, agriculture, industrial capacity, energy and post-disaster reconstruction, taking advantage of the opportunity provided by jointly building the Belt and Road Initiative, Xi was quoted as saying by Xinhua news agency.

Prachanda, who embarked on the China visit on March 24, is scheduled to return home on March 29.

--IANS

soni-gsh/bg