Nepalese foreign Minister visits China, ahead of the visit of PM Dahal in May; MoU signed between Nepal and China to promote trade and investment; India to provide aid worth Rs. 90 million for infrastructure projects; Maoists bag three seats in by-polls
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  • Nepal’s Foreign Minister Upendra Yadav visited China during the week ahead of the forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal scheduled for May. Yadav met with Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping and with the Chairman of the People’s Government of Tibetan Autonomous Region (TAR), Chhamba Puncog. Mr. Yadav in his meetings reiterated Nepal’s commitment to the ‘One-China’ policy while Mr. Xi stated that China always treated relations with Nepal from a strategic and long-term perspective1.

    In a related development, the Nepal-China Executives Council (NCEC) and Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) signed a MoU on promoting trade and investment between the two countries on April 6. A joint committee was envisaged to be formed to attract Chinese investments in Nepal2.

    India meanwhile agreed to provide financial assistance worth Rs. 90.82 million for infrastructure projects in the country, including for the building of schools and roads in Kathmandu and in the far eastern districts of Jhapa and Morang. A press release of the Indian Embassy in Kathmandu stated that these projects were being undertaken “in response to requests from respective District Development Committees (DDCs) and in consultation with Government of Nepal,” to be implemented as Small Development Projects under the India-Nepal Economic Cooperation Programme3.

    In other developments, the Unified CPN-Maoist party bagged three out of six parliamentary seats in the April 10 by-polls. The Maoists retained Rolpa and Kaski constituencies besides wining in Kachanpur, which was a Nepali Congress (NC) stronghold. NC, CPN-UML and Madhesi People's Rights Forum won one seat each in Morang-7, Morang-5 and Dhanusha-5 constituencies respectively4.

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