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UPDATE – Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi and Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Yu Hong will sign a Memorandum of Understanding on OBOR with China in Kathmandu on Thursday.

Earlier, the PM’s Secretariat had said in a statement that Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara was flying to Beijing to sign the MoU on OBOR.

KATHMANDU: The Government of Nepal on Monday officially decided to be a part of China’s ambitious “One Belt, One Road” initiative.

A meeting of the Cabinet decided to sign the memorandum of understanding on OBOR.

Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara, leading a high-level delegation, will fly to China on May 12 to sign the MoU, the PM’s Secretariat said quoting the government spokesperson, Surendra Bahadur Karki.

OBOR conference is being held in Beijing on May 14 and 15. Senior officials, including executive heads, of over 150 countries are expected to take part in the conference.

A signature initiative of Chinese President Xi, OBOR aims at enhancing connectivity and cooperation among countries, primarily between China and the rest of Asia and Europe through land as well as maritime routes.

Beijing had sent a draft proposal on OBOR to Nepal late last year. After a month-long consultation and with some revision, the Nepali side sent back the draft to Beijing.

The MoU was expected to signed on during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s recent visit to China in March.

Nepal’s Maoist Prime Minister, however, bought to time reportedly to learn Indian side’s view on the mega project.

“OBOR is very much on the PM’s agenda and we are quite positive about it,” Prime Minister Dahal’s political advisor Chakrapani Khanal had said in March, “But a formal deal might not happen as we need to consider which area of OBOR we are going focusing on and how.”

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