FM’s China visit on the cards

KATHMANDU, AUG. 23

A Chinese Embassy official met Foreign Minister Sujata Koirala and Foreign Secretary Gyan Chandra Acharya on Sunday and discussed a possible date for Koirala’s China visit. “The date for the visit is yet to be worked out, though discussions for the same are underway,” said Madan Kumar Bhattarai, Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, even as a close aide said Koirala is likely to head off to Beijing on September 9 on a five-day visit. Upon assuming office in May, Koirala had received an invitation from her Chinese counterpart Yang Jiechi. Ministry officials said Koirala’s visit would set the ground for Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal’s visit to the northern neighbour. Though Prime Minister Nepal has already received an invitation from his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao, the date for his visit is yet to be set. A high-level Chinese delegation headed by senior Chinese Communist Party Politburo member Zhang Gaoli will arrive in Kathmandu on Aug. 31. It will meet the prime minister and other senior Cabinet ministers, including the foreign minister, and political leaders. The team is also seeking a meeting with President Dr. Ram Baran Yadav. It will focus on the entire gamut of Nepal-China ties.