Wen loosens purse strings on Nepal visit

Wen,during his five-hour “official visit”,promised to do much more in the future based on Nepal’s needs. Wen had planned to visit Nepal last month but that trip was cancelled for undisclosed reasons. This visit came ahead of a Middle East trip by the premier,and was kept secret until a few hours before he arrived.

After a grand salute at the Tribhuvan International Airport,where the Cabinet led by PM Baburam Bhattarai welcomed him,Wen got straight to business,with a series of meetings in Singha Durbar.

Eight agreements were signed by the two Prime Ministers. They were related to construction and management of dry ports along the Nepal-China border,frontier pasture and exchange of assistance between the two foreign ministries. China has also offered to set up a training academy for the Armed Police Force,besides annual assistance of 10 million RMB to the paramilitary force and another 4 million RMB for the Civil Police.

The visit would have gone unnoticed if it weren’t for the massive security arrangements on the street followed by a heavy crackdown on Tibetans. At least 207 persons were arrested on suspicion that they would stage a protest,and Tibetan residents in Boddha and Jawlakhel were asked to stay indoors.

Under a series of agreements,Beijing agreed to provide assistance for a number of Nepal’s infrastructure projects and also bankroll the modernisation of the country’s police. China offered 750 million RMB ($115) in aid to Nepal during the visit by Wen.

Wen announced $20 million as one-time special grant to Nepal. He pledged to provide an grant assistance of 200 million RMB this year as part of 750 million RMB worth three years assistance. With PTI