Nepal, China to develop cross-border railway line

Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli who was on an official six-day visit to China has signed an accord to develop a cross-border railway line that will connect the Tibetan town of Kerung with Kathmandu.

This cooperation for railway connectivity is said to be the most significant initiative in the history of bilateral cooperation.

Nepal and China signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Thursday following an hour-long delegation-level talks at the Great Hall of the People.

The two sides signed 14 MoUs and letters of exchange. On Wednesday, nine agreements were signed by Nepali and Chinese public and private sector companies- Investment Board Nepal (IBN) and Huaxin Cement Company of China to develop a Rs15-billion Huaxin Narayani Cement; Butwal Power Company and Sichuan Investment Group (SCIG) to work together on Marsyangdi Cascade to produce 1,000 megawatt electricity; Nepal Electricity Authority and China's State Grid Corporation will construct a 159-km Kerung-Galchhi transmission line, Kathmandu Post reported.

The Kerung-Galchhi transmission line will be the first Nepal-China cross-border transmission line that will allow Nepal and China to trade power. A strong infrastructure of cross-border power connectivity will link Nepal to China, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand.

On Thursday, Oli flagged off a 'Friendship Run' between Nepali and Chinese students, at an event held at Beijing Sports University, which was organised to display the cooperation between the people of the two countries.

The Nepali community living in Beijing said that the friendship race was the first of its kind to be held in China, and added that such activities would deepen Nepal-China friendship at the people-to-people level.

On June 20, Oli said the two countries will continue to work together for common development and everlasting peace and prosperity.

He also said both Nepal and China are committed to taking forward the agreement to develop the cross-border railway infrastructure in a spirit of mutual trust, friendship and understanding, and close co-operation and collaboration.

The Prime Minister was accompanied by his wife Radhika Shakya, Home Minister Ram Bahadur Thapa, Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Minister for Energy, Water Resource and Irrigation Barshaman Pun, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Raghubir Mahaseth, Chief Adviser Bishnu Prasad Rimal and other government officials.

(ANI)