Prof Dr gopi upreti ,With the historic treaty signed between Nepal and China on Monday on Implementing Agreement on Transit and Transport and six other agreements in Beijing in the presence of President Bidya Devi Bhandari and her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People, Nepal enters into a new era of connectivity with international communities ending Nepal’s land lockedness with India. This will certainly elevate Nepal stature from that of being a landlocked country to land-linked country.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Gyawali and Minister for Transport of China Li Xiaopeng signed the agreement on behalf of their respective governments. The protocol had been pending since Nepal and China signed the Transit and Transportation Agreement in March 2016 during Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s visit to China in a difficult time of Indian blockade. The Transit and Transportation treaty was signed with a view to diversifying Nepal’s trade and paving the way for landlocked Nepal to carry out third country trade through ports of China.
The signing of this treaty makes it possible for Nepal to use four Chinese seaports–in Tianjin, Shenzhen, Lianyungang and Zhanjiang–and three land ports–in Lanzhou, Lhasa and Shigatse–for third-country import. It will also allow Nepal to carry out exports through six dedicated transit points between Nepal and China. It is argued that access to China’s sea and land ports will help end Nepal’s complete dependence on India for the third-country trade.
Another, highly significant development is Nepal’s formal entry into China’s ambitious BRI initiative and, both of these, developments will have a far-reaching repercussion in the development of Nepal and consequently, Nepal’s standing in the international community.
Though Nepali people suffered a lot, I thanked Modi jee and Indian government for the infamous blockade, otherwise, KP Oli jee would not have gone to China to sign the protocol on Trade and Transit, which, has been translated into a treaty today. These are, indeed, the events of historic significance for Nepali people and can be singularly attributed to PM Oli’s thoughtful and pragmatic foreign policy milestone in favor of national interest. PM Oli should be congratulated for envisioning this.
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