Nepal Prime Minister Prachanda to meet President Xi during 8-day visit to China from September 23

Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' will be on an eight-day visit to China from September 23 for talks with the top Chinese leadership, including President Xi Jinping, on ways to further bolster bilateral ties between the two neighbours.

Prachanda will also attend the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games in the eastern Chinese city of Hangzhou on September 23, Nepal's Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.

Prachanda, who along with the country's Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud is currently in the US to attend the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, will directly fly to China on September 23 for the official visit.

"Prime Minister Prachanda is paying an official visit to China from September 23 to 30 at the invitation of Li Qiang, Premier of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China,” said the statement issued by the Nepal Foreign Ministry.

Prachanda's delegation to China will also include several Nepal government cabinet ministers, including Foreign Minister Saud, Minister for Water Supply Mahindra Raya Yadav, Minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala among others and the National Security Advisor Shanker Das Bairagi.

During his visit to China, Prime Minister Prachanda is scheduled to meet with President Xi in Hangzhou. He will hold a bilateral meeting with his counterpart Premier Li Qiang, and also meet Zhao Leji, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress in Beijing, said the statement.

During the meetings, the two sides will have an in-depth exchange of views on deepening traditional friendship, expanding mutually beneficial cooperation and international and regional issues of mutual interest, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said in Beijing on Thursday.

In recent years, the two countries conducted frequent high-level exchanges, enhanced communication and cooperation in economic and cultural fields, and maintained close coordination and collaboration on international and regional affairs, the spokesperson said.

"China stands ready to work with Nepal to deepen strategic mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, advance the high-quality Belt and Road cooperation and elevate the strategic cooperative partnership to a new height through the visit," Mao said.

The Prime Minister will also address the China-Nepal Investment Summit jointly organised by China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FNCCI) and Nepali Embassy in Beijing.

He is also scheduled to visit Chongqing Municipality to observe the agricultural and industrial advancement in China's fourth-largest city. He will also visit Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China that borders Nepal.

"Nepal and China enjoy an excellent state of bilateral relations as good friends, close neighbours and trusted partners. The pedestal of this strong relationship has been nurtured by many commonalities in culture, history, and geography. This visit will bolster our age-old bilateral relations and expand the areas of cooperation in various fields of mutual interest,” said Nepal's Foreign Ministry.

Prime Minister Prachanda has visited China many times.

China and Nepal are traditional friends, neighbours and strategic cooperative partners. Since the two countries established diplomatic relations 68 years ago, no matter how the international or regional situations have evolved, China-Nepal relations have maintained sound and steady progress, Mao said.

"Our two countries have given each other understanding and support on issues concerning our respective core interests, making this relationship a good example of equality and win-win cooperation between countries of different sizes," she added.