Vice-Chairperson of the National Assembly NA ), Urmila Aryal led parliamentary delegation met Wang Yi, Foreign Minister, People’s Republic of China in recently in Tibet while taking part in the China Xizang Trans-Himalayan Forum.

Vice-Chairperson of the National Assembly (NA Aryal addressed the forum as a key note speaker. In her address, she has viewed that Nepal is open to working together with the Trans Himalayan countries to enhance connectivity.

NA Vice Chairperson Aryal said so while addressing the 3rd China Xizang Trans-Himalayan Forum held in Linzhi, Xizang Autonomous Region (XAR) of China on Thursday.

We are open to working together with the Trans Himalayan countries and others with such aim of enhancing inter-connections among us. It is with such purpose that Nepal joined the BRI in 2017, and we aim to implement the mega projects including, viz, the Trans Himalayan Railway, Highway, and High Voltage Power Grids as the schemes of highest consideration. These infrastructures are highly beneficial to interlink the Trans-Himalayan region and countries, she said while addressing the Forum.

She also made it a point that Nepal has expressed its willingness to expedite the implementation of BRI and its Trans-Himalayan Platform to enhance the linkages for connectivity between China and Nepal, other countries in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Central Asia. "I believe that this Trans Himalayan Forum 2023 will be instrumental in deepening our linkages in the region by all possible socio-economic means, science, and technology".

Referring to high-level exchanges including that of Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Nepal in 2019 and then the visit of Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari to China in the same year and the recent visit of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' to China, the NA Vice Chairperson said that the exchanges have "helped to further strengthen our bilateral relations. The increased communication, contacts, and cooperation at various levels of our nations have helped generate tremendous goodwill towards each other."

She noted that the understandings made during PM Prachanda's recent China visit "will pave the ways to further enhance connectivity by means of the strategic road networks and highways, air-ways, railways, and transit facilities, and the renewable energy development and electricity-transmission lines".

Based on the reporting in The Rising Nepal