Within 48 hours of the visit of Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla to Nepal, Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe will reach Kathmandu on Sunday.
Officials of the Foreign Ministry in Kathmandu confirmed that Chinese Defence Minister Wei Fenghe will reach Kathmandu on Sunday.
During the one-day visit to Nepal, Wei Fenghe is expected to call on President Bidhya Bhandari, meet Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Army Chief General Purna Chandra Thapa.
Indian Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, who was in Kathmandu on Friday, had described Nepal as India’s foremost friend and development partner.
Shringla was in Kathmandu on a two-day visit at the invitation of Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal, amid a strain in bilateral ties following a bitter border row.
Delivering a talk hosted by the Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs in Kathmandu, Shringla had said India and Nepal share the same geography, civilisational heritage, culture and customs.
“Our aspiration of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas’ and your goal of ‘Samriddh Nepal, Sukhi Nepali’ are entirely compatible,” Shringla had said
The foreign secretary said for India, Nepal is fundamental to the ‘Neighbourhood First’ approach.
Shringla had said in addition to the common civilisational inheritance, India’s relationship with Nepal rests on four pillars – development cooperation; stronger connectivity; expanded infrastructure and economic projects.
Wei, a former rocket force commander with the Chinese PLA, is a close associate of president Xi Jinping.