Bishnu Rimal, chief advisor to the prime minister, confirmed that Nepal would sign a commercial deal with China regarding fuel supply, during the prime minister's visit."The exact date of the visit to the northern neighbor is yet to be fixed, but it will likely be during the third week of March," Rimal told Republica, adding, "Nepal and China will sign a commercial petroleum deal, among other agreements, during this visit."
Rimal informed that a deal with China would be based on the agenda set during Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa's visit there in December. "Diversification of trade is what Nepal needs and the agreement with China will accord with that," Rimal said. "I believe that Nepal can enter into a fuel trade deal with China like that with India after resolving some technical issues," he added.
Though Thapa's visit in December was expected to strike a commercial fuel deal with China, he returned empty-handed. On his return, Thapa said a petroleum deal would likely be inked during the prime minister's visit there.
Once Nepal signs a commercial fuel deal with China, the northern neighbor will supply one-third of Nepal's need for petroleum products. Earlier on October 29, Nepal had inked a framework agreement with China for fuel supply as an alternative to the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) with which Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) has had four decades of trade. PetroChina had signed an agreement to supply one-third of Nepal's fuel requirements. However, the fuel accord was delayed following different technical issues such as Nepal's demand for waiver of double taxation (at provincial and central government levels) on the export of fuel.
Four-member team leaving for China
A four-member government team led by Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Supplies (MoS) Uttam Nagila is leaving for China on Tuesday. Other members of the team are Under-Secretary at MoS Nabaraj Dhakal, Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) Director Birendra Goit and Section Officer Arjun Bhandari.
"It is a regular visit for observing developments over different fuel related issues discussed earlier with China," Under Secretary Nabaraj Dhakal told Republica, adding, "This time we are more inclined to focus on prospects of LPG supply from China."
According to him, the team will also follow up on the agenda prioritized during Deputy Prime Minister Kamal Thapa's visit last December.
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