Nepal Foreign Affairs (KATHMANDU, June 21) : A Chinese 10-member delegation led by Foreign Minister Wang Yi is arriving in Nepal on Wednesday for a two-day visit, government officials said.
This will be the highest level delegation from the Chinese side after the 7.9 magnitude earthquake jolted Nepal on April 25 killing 9,000 lives and leaving another 22,000 injured with thousands of houses destroyed or damaged in the disaster and ensuing aftershocks.
The delegation will represent China at the International Conference on Nepal’s Reconstruction to be organised by the government with the theme ‘Towards a Resilient Nepal’ on June 25 in the Nepalese Capital Kathmandu.
“The Chinese Foreign Minister-led delegation will arrive here on June 24 and depart on June 25,” Joint Secretary at the Nepal’s Foreign Ministry, Jhabindra Aryal, told. According to Aryal, the Chinese delegation will pay courtesy call on President Dr Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Sushil Koirala. In addition, Foreign Minister Wang will meet his Nepali counterpart Mahendra Bahadur Pandey. He is scheduled to address the conference on June 25.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang is expected to express the China’s solidarity with the people of Nepal and will announce a significant contribution to support the country’s reconstruction efforts in view of the devastating earthquake, Nepali government officials said.
In the aftermath of the earthquake, the Chinese government had sent the relief aid to Nepal since April 25 earthquake worth some 60 million RMB up to 17 May. Then after, in another phase, the Chinese government provided more relief support to Nepal which included tarpaulins, tents and family health kits worth some 80 million RMB (12.9 million U.S. dollars).
On May 21, Chinese Assistant Foreign Minister Liu Jianchao led a cross-sectoral working group to Katmandu, extending condolences to Nepal over its earthquake disaster and investigating the earthquake situation as well as the needs of post-disaster reconstruction.
In view of seeking to support mobilization of resources for Nepal’s reconstruction, the Nepali government is organising the conference, Officiating Foreign Secretary Shanke Das Bairagi told.”This is going to be a major conference seeking to support mobilization of resources for Nepal’s reconstruction in the aftermath of devastating earthquake and together with its subsequent aftershocks. Our intention is to invite the traditional as well as new partners, UN agencies and other relevant organizations,” the officiating foreign secretary added.
The conference will be attended by over 60 representatives from foreign countries including China, India and the USA.
Indian Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj, Sri Lankan Disaster Management Minister A H M Fowsie, Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Borge Brende and United Nations Under Secretary General Gyan Chandra Acharya are attending the conference on June 24, the Finance Ministry said.