No deals will be signed during PM Dahal's China visit: Nepal

Kathmandu [Nepal], Mar. 23 (ANI): Nepalese Minister for Foreign Affairs Prakash Sharan Mahat has said that no pacts or MoUs will be signed with Beijing during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to China starting today. "Some crucial bilateral issues, however, will be discussed," the Kathmandu Post quoted Mahat as saying while announcing Dahal's week-long visit to China. According to Mahat, the government has prepared some MoUs but Prime Minister Dahal will not be signing any pacts during his visit due to "some technical reasons". "The government is fully committed to implementing the past pacts reached with China. We have completed all the groundwork on our part; we hope the deals reached in the past will be signed in near future," added Mahat as he tried to dispel criticisms that the Dahal government has failed to take forward any of the agreements signed during former prime minister K.P. Sharma Oli's visit to Beijing in March last year. Earlier, there were expectations that Dahal's visit could pave the way for Nepal's participation in the "One Road One Belt" initiative. Similarly, there were talks about signing of a protocol on the Transit Transportation Agreement (TTA), which would allow Nepal to use Chinese ports and land routes for third-country trade and Free Trade Agreement (FTA). (ANI)