Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs led a Nepali delegation to the Tibet Autonomous Region of China, at the invitation of the Government of the People’s Republic of China, to attend as the Chief Guest of the joint reopening ceremony of all traditional border trading points between Nepal and China, organized at Chentang Town, Shigatse City, Tibet Autonomous Region this afternoon.

On the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Vice Chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region of the People’s Republic of China Silang Nima jointly declared reopening of allfourteen traditional border trading points between Nepal and China.

Speaking at the program as the Chief Guest, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Shrestha stated that this landmark decision will greatly contribute to make the daily lives of the bordering peoples easier and comfortable, facilitate cross-border trade, foster economic ties, and further elevate the exemplary bilateral relations.

Highlighting the huge potential of cooperation between Nepal and China’s Tibet Autonomous Region in such areas as trade, investment, tourism, among others, Honourable Mr. Shrestha stressed the need to develop a multidimensional connectivity network for further facilitation of seamless cross-border movement of cargo and people. Likewise, he underscored the necessity to improve infrastructure at border areas, establish fully equipped laboratory for testing and accreditation, and expedite construction of port facilities in Nepal-China border.

While referring to notable progress in implementing some key decisions and agreements made during high-level meetings and discussions earlier, Honourable Mr. Shrestha thanked the Government of the People’s Republic of China for its continuous support and cooperation to Nepal including the recent decision to provide free Chinese visa to Nepali nationals.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairsunderlined the need for enhancing cooperation in vital priority areas of Nepal’s development such as trade, investment, technology transfer, hydropower, manufacturing, infrastructure development, tourism, agriculture, connectivity, culture, and education. He added that Nepal expects visible results in the fields of economic and development cooperation from China in coming days. He further stressed that both sides need to work to making Visit Nepal Year 2025 in China a success by carrying out result-oriented joint activities, including in the Tibet Autonomous Region.

Speaking at the programme from the Chinese side, Silang Nima, Vice Chairman of Tibet Autonomous Region of China, said that the joint reopening of the traditional border trading points characterises a historic moment in Nepal-China relations. While stating the close, warm, and friendly relationship between Nepal and China, Nima stressed the need to further enhance the bilateral ties and cooperation in coming days.

As per today’s joint announcement, seven traditional border points located in Dolpa, Mustang, Gorkha, Dolakha, Taplejung, and Sankhuwasabha will remain opened from today. The remainingtraditional border points will be reopened phase-wise as per the practice before Covid-19 pandemic.

The Nepali delegation members led by the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs included Hikmat Kumar Karki, Chief Minister of Koshi Province; Krishna Prasad Dhakal, Joint Secretary and Head of the North East Asia Division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Navaraj Dhakal, Consul General, Consulate Generalof Nepal, Lhasa; and other senior officials of the Government of Nepal.