A Nepalese delegation is set to leave for China on Friday to seal a commercial deal on importing petroleum products, a top official said on Thursday.
Nepal's move comes after India imposed an unofficial blockade, halting the supplies of petroleum products, resulting in the crisis since September.
"Two representatives from Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) along with officials from the Ministry Commerce and Supplies will leave for China tomorrow. The agreement will be signed within a few days," Sushil Bhattarai, NOC managing director, told Xinhua news agency.
However, the details of the delegation were not disclosed.
Nepal has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to import a third of its total demand of petroleum products from China.
Prior to commercial agreement, the two sides will finalise the pricing, fuel supply mechanism, routes, and supply procedures among other issues.
Nepalese Minister for Commerce and Supplies Ganesh Man Pun, who returned from a week-long China trip on Tuesday, announced that that Beijing will start supplying fuel right after a week of signing the commercial agreement.
NOC has asked China to supply fuel from Tatopani customs which is easier and shorter route than the Rasuwagadhi border point.
Earlier, China had provided a grant assistance of 1000 tonnes of petrol to the Himalayan nation to ease the ongoing fuel crisis.
