Belt And Road Initiative

Only grant projects accepted in Belt and Road Initiative: Nepali Congress

The Nepali Congress, which is part of the ruling coalition, on Monday said that the country can only accept agreements under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) if they are based on grants. A meeting of the party's Central Working Committee held at the residence of party president and former prime minister Sher Bahadur Deuba said that the BRI projects should not be financed through loans. The party's statement came days after Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli visited China where the two countries signed the BRI Cooperation Framework. Following the meeting, Nepali Congress spokesperson Prakash Sharan Mahat told the media that the party's position remains unchanged BRI projects should be funded only by grants. Mahat said that during Prime Minister Oli's visit to China, the agreement for financing was referred to as an assistance and not a loan. He said any future BRI projects must follow this framework and be funded through grants. Nepal Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai inked the ...

Nepal signs BRI cooperation agreement with China during PM Oli's visit

Nepal and China on Wednesday signed the much-awaited Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Cooperation Framework, an agreement which is expected to pave the way for the implementation of the BRI projects. The agreement was inked during Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli's official visit to China - his first official visit to that country after assuming office for the fourth time. "Today, we signed the Framework for Belt & Roads Cooperation. As my official visit to China concludes, I am honoured to reflect on the bilateral talks with Premier Li Qiang, discussions with NPC Chairman Zhang Leji, and the highly fruitful meeting with President Xi Jinping," Prime Minister Oli posted on X. The Nepal-China economic cooperation will further strengthen under the Belt and Road Framework Cooperation, he added. The BRI framework agreement was inked by Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai and Liu Sushe of the National Development and Reform Commission of China, according to the Prime Minister's ...

Nepal rules out loans for BRI projects; emphasises grants, consensus

Nepal on Saturday said it is not in a position to take loans for projects under China's Belt and Road Initiative and will instead primarily rely on grants, moving forward based on mutual consensus among all stakeholders. Speaking to reporters at Tribhuvan International Airport upon returning from a three-day visit to China, Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba clarified Nepal's position on the implementation of BRI projects. Her visit was aimed at preparing for Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli's upcoming official trip to China starting December 2. "Nepal signed the BRI framework agreement in 2017, but discussions regarding its implementation modality are still ongoing. The projects under BRI will only move forward based on agreements and mutual understanding between Nepal, China, and all stakeholders within Nepal," Deuba said. In response to a question, the foreign minister said that Nepal is currently not in a position to take loans under the multi-billion dollar infrastructure ...

Will not sign any loan agreement with China under BRI during visit: Oli

Nepal's prime minister will begin an official visit to China on December 2 at the invitation of the Chinese government.

Ahead of Xi's trip, Brazil refuses to endorse China's Belt and Road project

Celso Amorim, Brazil's special presidential adviser for international affairs, said on Monday that Brazil has decided not to join China's multi-billion dollar mega project

India reiterates opposition to China's Belt and Road Initiative at SCO meet

India on Wednesday once again refused to endorse China's ambitious 'One Belt One Road' initiative, becoming the only country in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) not to support the controversial connectivity project. A joint communique unveiled at the end of the SCO's Council of Heads of Government conclave hosted by Islamabad said Russia, Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan reaffirmed their support for the Chinese connectivity initiative. It said the countries noted ongoing work on the implementation of the project, including efforts to link the Eurasian Economic Union with the One Road One Initiative (OBOR). India has been refusing to endorse OBOR in previous SCO conclaves as well. India has been severely critical of the OBOR, previously known as the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as the project includes the so-called China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that passes through Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. There has been growing glo

Maldives' strategic shift: Domestic priorities induce a thaw with India

As debt looms and foreign reserves dwindle, Muizzu's invitation to PM Narendra Modi and the push for increased Indian tourism highlight a pragmatic approach to foreign relations

Xi Jinping wants bigger returns, fewer headaches from African debt deals

From Angola to Djibouti, for over a decade, China poured more than $120 billion of government-backed loans through its Belt and Road Initiative to build hydropower plants

China keen to pursue Belt and Road projects: Premier Li to new Nepal PM Oli

Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Thursday expressed his desire to implement the understanding reached between the top leaders and the two countries in the past to collaborate under the China-Nepal Belt and Road Cooperation and also to promote collaboration in other areas to further promote bilateral ties. In a message to the newly appointed Prime Minister of Nepal, Li extended hearty congratulations to KP Sharma Oli on behalf of the Chinese government and on his own behalf. He also expressed his desire to implement the understanding reached between the top leaders and the two countries in the past to collaborate under the China-Nepal Belt and Road Cooperation and also to promote collaboration in other areas as well. Nepal and China signed a memorandum of understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a flagship initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Under this, the two countries are expected to focus on connectivity, trade, development strategies, and policy dialogue for ...

BRI implementation plan discussed with China: Nepal Dy PM Shrestha

Nepal and China have made progress in moving forward with the implementation plan of the Beijing-backed Belt and Road Initiative projects in the Himalayan nation, Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha said here on Monday. Shrestha, who is also the Minister for Foreign Affairs, returned home on Monday, after concluding an eight-day official visit to China from March 25 to April 1. He held discussions with Chinese officials on matters relating to giving final shape to the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Implementation Plan for its actual implementation. An understanding has already been reached with China regarding the BRI Implementation Plan during the visit of our Prime Minister to China and talks have moved forward during my visit as per the understanding, he said. Under the BRI, Nepal is free to select development projects as per its choice, he added. Responding to a question, he said We prefer grant assistance under the BRI but both options including, grant and loan are op

Nepal, China to sign implementation plan of BRI projects: Nepal's Deputy PM

Nepal and China will sign the implementation plan of the Belt and Road Initiative very soon, Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha said on Saturday, nearly seven years after the two neighbours inked an agreement to undertake ambitious Beijing-backed infrastructure projects in the Himalayan nation. Once we sign the implementation plan, we will move into the implementation phase, Shrestha, also the Minister for Home Affairs said while addressing an event here that is part of the Silk Road Youth Forum and South Asian Cooperation Conference. He said the two countries will sign the implementation plan of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) very soon without specifying any date. His statement came as Sun Haiyan, a senior leader of China's ruling Communist Party, was visiting Nepal and meeting the country's top leaders. The signing of the BRI implementation plan is the key to negotiate and execute the projects under the initiative. Nepal and China signed a Memorandum of Understandin

China's Wagner? Country hires private security to protect foreign assets

The primary focus of the contractor will be on facilitating China's Belt and Road Initiative in West Asia and Africa

The Myanmar puzzle

India must rethink its traditional position

Italy drops out of China Belt and Road initiative that failed to deliver

Italy has formally withdrawn from China's global Belt and Road initiative that seeks to deepen relations with foreign countries through infrastructure investments, Italian media reported on Wednesday. Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni had previously signalled Italy's intention to withdraw from the agreement, which was up for renewal. The Milan newspaper Corriere della Sera reported that a letter with the formal notice had been delivered to Beijing in recent days. Meloni's office declined to comment on the report. Italy became the first G7 country to sign on to the initiative in 2019, when the populist, anti-establishment Five Star Movement party-led government promoted it as a way of increasing trade with China while getting investments in major infrastructure projects. Neither appeared. In the intervening years, Italy's trade deficit with China has ballooned from 20 billion euros to 48 billion euros ($21.5 billion to $51.8 billion.) And investments in Italian ports that were trumpeted

Here are the key leaders joining BRI forum and their wish lists to Beijing

China is hosting its third international forum centered around President Xi Jinping's signature policy, the Belt and Road Initiative, which over the past 10 years has built infrastructure across continents, burdening some smaller countries with debt. The forum brings a flurry of diplomacy to Beijing, including at least 20 heads of state and government, mostly hailing from developing markets in Southeast and South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America. Here are some key leaders visiting Beijing and an overview of their countries' involvement in the Belt and Road projects. RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN Russian President Vladimir Putin landed in Beijing on Tuesday, on his first trip outside the former Soviet Union since the International Criminal Court issued a warrant for him in March over his alleged involvement in the mass abduction of children from Ukraine. Putin's visit underscores China's economic and diplomatic support for Moscow amid the isolation brought by its

How China's BRI is changing after a decade of big projects and big debts

China's Belt and Road Initiative looks to become smaller and greener after a decade of big projects that boosted trade but left big debts and raised environmental concerns. The shift comes as leaders from across the developing world descend on Beijing this week for a government-organized forum on what is known as BRI for short. The initiative has built power plants, roads, railroads and ports around the world and deepened China's relations with Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Mideast. It is a major part of Chinese President Xi Jinping's push for China to play a larger role in global affairs. What is the BRI? Called One Belt, One Road in Chinese, the Belt and Road Initiative started as a program for Chinese companies to build transportation, energy and other infrastructure overseas funded by Chinese development bank loans. The stated goal was to grow trade and the economy by improving China's connections with the rest of the world in a 21st-century version of the Silk Road trad

Pro-China candidate Mohamed Muizzu wins Maldives presidential election

The run-off was seen as having significant implications for the Maldives's foreign policy, especially in deciding China and India's battle for influence in the strategically-located country

A new great game is afoot: India-China rivalry to lead Global South

Leadership of the developing world could well become a defining characteristic of the 21st century

G20 Summit 2023: India drives home its point, courtesy 'new spice route'

Countering China's BRI, New Corridor to push out Stalled older projects

China dispatches senior diplomat to Italy to persuade nation to stay in BRI

Beijing is trying to persuade Europe to take a less hawkish stance than the US, which has imposed a sweeping raft of export controls on China to curb its access to advanced technology