Premier Wen is scheduled to hold separate meetings with President Dr Ram Baran Yadav and Prime Minister Dr Baburam Bhattarai, and possibly hold a joint meeting with top leaders of various political parties during his five-hour stay in Kathmandu. [break]
Officials of both countries were busy finalizing the details of the visit when this newspaper went to press at 11:30 p.m.
Government officials said Wen is scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu via special aircraft at 11 a.m. on Saturday and will remain busy in various bilateral meetings before he leaves for Qatar at 5 in the evening.
Premier Wen is visiting Kathmandu just before he begins a five-day trip to three Gulf countries- Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates. A statement posted by the Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson on the ministry website on January 10 talks about his visit to the three Gulf countries; however, it doesn’t mention anything about his Nepal visit.
The statement reads, “During his visit, Premier Wen Jiabo will hold talks and meet with the leaders of the three countries, having in-depth exchange of views on the development of bilateral relations as well as international and regional issues of common interests.”
Wen was originally scheduled to arrive in Kathmandu on a three-day official visit on December 20 but the visit was postponed at the eleventh hour without giving any reason.
Foreign Minister Narayankaji Shrestha then surprised seasoned observers and the media by arguing that Wen’s visit date had never been fixed, so any suggestion that it was postponed at the eleventh hour did not make any sense. However, Chinese ambassador to Nepal Yang Haulan later met senior political leaders and told them that the visit was postponed due to internal reasons in China, particularly Wen’s preoccupation with budgetary and economic issues back home.
The postponement of the visit had triggered much speculation, with some suggesting that the Chinese side wasn’t fully reassured about the security arrangements in Nepal, especially with regard to possible Tibetan protests in Kathmandu during the visit.
This visit by a Chinese premier comes a decade after then Premier Zhu Rongji visited Kathmandu in May 2001. Prior to that, Chinese President Jiang Zemin had paid a visit to Nepal in December 1996.
US$ 500m credit line agreement likely
Although top government officials remained tight-lipped over the agenda of Wen’s visit and negotiations were still going on when this newspaper went to press, sources said the two heads of government could seal a credit line of around US$ 500 million, including US$ 150 million for the Pokhara International Airport.
China is also expected to provide a grant assistance of around US$ 55 million for upgrading the existing ring-road in Kathmandu Valley.
Officially, the government will request China to open a credit line of ‘huge volume’, particularly with reference to the fact that the country needs huge investments for the development of large-scale infrastructure projects. Officials at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) could not confirm what this ‘huge volume’ would be, as the matter has been kept a secret between a limited number of officials.
During the previously scheduled visit which was eventually postponed, the government had prepared to seek a credit line of US$ 5 billion (over Rs 400 billion) from China for the development of four major projects, including Pokhara International Airport, the 750-MW West Seti Hydropower Project (US$ 1.6 billion), 600-MW Budi Gandaki Hydropower Project (US$ 1.7 billion) and 400-MW Nalshyagugad Hydropower Project (US$ 400 million).
Among these major projects, the Exim Bank of China is already studying the feasibility of investing in the Pokhara Airport. The other projects, however, are at a discussion stage as MoF forwarded the request for assistance just a few months ago.
Among other things, the government will likewise request China to expand the list of items for which it has granted duty free market access in a bid to boost Nepal’s export trade. The list at present includes items in 431 product lines, but largely excludes commodities of export interest to Nepal.
Related story
DPM Yadav makes a surprise visit Singhadurbar Vaidyakhana
