Nepal PM Prachanda meets China Communist Party politburo member

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' on Tuesday met Yuan Jiajun, a politburo member of the Chinese Community Party (CCP), and both the leaders exchanged views on consolidating close and friendly relations, particularly in the areas of agriculture, tourism and trade promotion.

Prachanda, who politically distanced from the pro-China Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) headed by KP Oli after becoming Prime Minister in December last year, made his maiden visit to China after visiting India and the US.

On Tuesday, the Nepali delegation led by Prachanda reached Chongqing municipality in China.

Prachanda met Yuan, a Member of the Political Bureau of the Chinese Political Party Central Committee and Secretary of the CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee. "During the meeting, both leaders exchanged views on consolidating close and friendly relations subsisting between Nepal and China, particularly in the areas of agriculture, air connectivity, tourism and trade promotion," according to a press release issued by the Nepalese Embassy in Beijing.

"Both sides underscored the need to strengthen cooperation for industrial growth, foreign direct investment and digital technology for shared prosperity of both countries," the statement read.

"Two leaders agreed to enhance cooperation on technology transfer, knowledge sharing and capacity-building for the socio-economic development of Nepal." Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud, Minister for Water Supply Mahindra Ray Yadav, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Planning Prakash Jwala, Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and other senior government officials of Nepal were present during the meeting.

From the Chinese side, Hu Huanghua, Mayor of Chongqing Municipal Government, Chen Xinwu, General-Secretary of CPC Chongqing Municipal Committee and Chen Song, Ambassador of China to Nepal were present.

"In the evening, Prime Minister Prachanda was paid a courtesy call by Liu Jianchao, Minister of the International Department of the CPC Central Committee. During the meeting, both leaders discussed the ways and means of expanding cooperation in various areas of mutual interest including high-level political exchanges, socio-economic development and people-to-people relations," according to the statement.

The Prime Minister also visited Chongqing Academy of Agricultural Sciences where he observed the use of science and technology for agricultural development as well as ecological preservation.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)