 "Will not sign any loan agreement with China under BRI during visit: Oli")
Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli on Monday said no agreement on loan would be reached during his upcoming official visit to China.
The prime minister will begin an official visit to China on December 2 at the invitation of the Chinese government.
During a meeting with former prime ministers and foreign ministers at the Prime Minister's Office at Singhdurbar, Oli claimed the Belt and Road Initiative signed with China was not a loan-based agreement and there was no need to discuss now whether or not to seek a loan from China.
"We take loans or grants based on our national interests as and when we need them from any country or agency. We should not be swayed by the baseless rumour that loan is being taken to entrap the country,” Oli further clarified.
“We have a long and friendly relationship with China. I am visiting the northern neighbour to make the friendship further multi-dimensional." “Irrespective of the country we chose for our first visit, we keep sovereignty, independence and freedom as well as national welfare along with global welfare in top priority,” pointed out the prime minister, adding that his visit would be successful.
Oli dismissed the rumour that major ruling partners CPN (UML) and Nepali Congress have a dispute over the agenda of his visit.
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Oli's remarks came in the wake of speculations that Nepali Congress favours grants from China under BRI whereas CPN UML's priority is to seek loans under the arrangement.
“I urge all my friends to remain assured that we will work for Nepal's interests and world peace," the prime minister's secretariat cited Oli as saying.
Oli informed the participants in the meeting that effective implementation of the past agreements with China, expansion of the transmission line, export of Nepali products to China, and other related issues of cooperation would mainly come up during his high-level meeting in Beijing.
Oli said Nepal had the same friendly relations with another neighbour, India, and underlined the need to take benefit of the cordial ties with both countries for Nepal's economic development.
"No one should take such matters as a 'card' against any country as the official visit of the head of the government will be based on the needs and decisions of the country,” Oli clarified.
Sharing his views at the discussion, former prime minister and Chairperson of CPN (Maoist Centre) Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' said though he broke tradition by visiting China first in the past he had no intention to play the "China card".
Prachanda emphasised the effective implementation of the agreements signed with China last year when he was the prime minister.
Foreign Minister Dr Arzu Rana Deuba said preparations were underway on the issue of 'agenda' by the two ruling parties regarding the prime minister's upcoming visit to China and all the agendas would be finalised soon.
She said there was no dispute between the two parties regarding the visit as projected in the media.
However, Deuba was not present during the discussion as he was out of Kathmandu Valley while former prime ministers Jhal Nath Khanal and Madhav Kumar Nepal.
The former chairman of the Council of Ministers Khilraj Regmi, former foreign ministers Ishwar Pokharel, Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Bhesh Bahadur Thapa, NP Saud, Mahendra Bahadur Pandey, Dr Prakash Chandra Lohani, Dr Bimala Rai participated in the meeting.