KATHMANDU- General Secretary of the Communist Party of China based in Tibet, Wang Junzheng, paid a courtesy call on National Assembly Chair Ganesh Prasad Timilsina in Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China today.
Chair Timilsina is currently on an official visit of China. During the meeting, the upper house chairman referred to the Nepal-Tibet ties dating back to the seventh century with the Nepali princess Bhrikuti’s marriage with the then Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. He said Nepal and Tibet were also connected by geography, culture and tradition.
The NA Chair stated that the trade and investment between Nepal and Tibet since history were the basic pillars of the bilateral ties. Stating that the trade and investment activities between Nepal and Tibet had been hampered during the COVID-19 pandemic, he expressed the hope that trade and investment would be expanded now that the three transit points with Tibet have been opened, according to the National Assembly Secretariat.
He stressed on operation of the Korala transit bordering Mustang district of Nepal and Dhongwasen district of Tibet, as soon as possible. He believed that opening of the Korala transit point would ease the travel to Mansarovar from Nepal as the construction of Kaligandaki Corridor highway linking Tibet via Korala in the north and India to the south is in its last leg of completion.
He said the cooperation of Tibet government was expected in constructing the customs infrastructures on the Nepal side of the Korala transit point as well, since the construction have not started on Nepali side although the same was moving ahead in a speedy manner towards the Tibet side. The NA Chair also called attention of the Tibet government on the prospects of increased tourism activities in both Nepal and Tibet if the process for undertaking Kailash-Mansarovar travel was facilitated by operating direct flights from Lhasa to airports in Nepal and also from Kathmandu, Pokhara and Bhairahawa to Lhasa.
General Secretary Junzheng informed that they were positive on constructing customs infrastructures at Korala transit point, on simplifying the customs procedures for the Nepali agriculture produce and on operating direct flights from Lhasa to Kathmandu, Pokhara and Bhirahawa. He also gave assurances that Tibet would implement all these initiatives.