Nepal rules out loans for BRI projects: Foreign Minister
Arzu Rana Deuba said: “I have told Minister Wang Yi that Nepal is not in a position to take loans… Our discussions in China revolved around progressing with BRI projects through grants.”
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The Nepali Congress leader said that the talks with her Chinese counterpart in Chengdu on Friday were part of “ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral ties at all levels.”Nepal Foreign Affairs Minister Arzu Rana Deuba conveyed to China that Nepal is not in a position to take any loans and will instead primarily rely on grants, she said Saturday.
Returning from China after a three-day visit ahead of Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli’s official tour to Beijing, Deuba said that the BRI framework agreement signed in 2017 between the two countries will be executed “based on agreements and mutual understanding between Nepal, China, and all stakeholders within Nepal.”
Speaking at the Tribhuvan International Airport, Deuba said: “I have told Minister Wang Yi that Nepal is not in a position to take loans… Our discussions in China revolved around progressing with BRI projects through grants.”
Deuba will be the only Minister in Prime Minister Oli’s 44-member entourage.
The Nepali Congress leader said that the talks with her Chinese counterpart in Chengdu on Friday were part of “ongoing efforts to strengthen bilateral ties at all levels.”
Prime Minister Oli is expected to discuss with China a broad range of issues including connectivity, smoother trade through border check posts that have become operational after their closure following the 2015 earthquakes, and tourism, but all within the limitations of domestic politics.
Any defiance of the Nepali Congress line that Minister Deuba warned China about, poses a threat to Oli’s coalition government.
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