KATHMANDU: Chinese President Xi Jinping is arriving in Nepal on a two-day state visit today.
Xi is scheduled to land at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu at around 4:45 pm on Saturday.
The Chinese President is visiting Nepal at the invitation of his Nepali counterpart Bidhya Devi Bhandari.
Visit by a Chinese President after a hiatus of 23 years to Nepal is expected to further strengthen ties between the two neighboring countries.
During the visit, President Xi is scheduled to meet with President Bhandari. He will also attend a banquet in his honor and the Chinese delegation.
Chinese President Xi will also hold delegation-level talks with Prime Minister KP Oli. The two sides will also sign bilateral agreements and memoranda of understanding between the two nations.
Tentative itinerary
After landing at the Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu at 4:30 pm, President Xi will directly move to Hotel Soaltee.
At 6:30 PM, President Xi is scheduled to meet with President Bidhya Devi Bhandari at the President’s Office, Shital Niwas.
At 7:15 PM, President Xi will have a meeting with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Likewise, he will participate in a banquet in President Xi’s honor at Hotel Soaltee at 7:30 PM on Saturday. Sursudha, a musical band, to perform.
On Sunday at 10:30 AM, Chinese President Xi is scheduled to meet with Nepali Communist Party Chairman, Pushpa Kamal Dahal.
At 11:10 AM on Sunday, President Xi is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister K P Oli, and witness the signing of bilateral agreements between Nepal and China.
Chinese President Xi is scheduled to return home at 1:00 PM on Sunday.
According to the TIA office, the airport will be shut down from 2:55 pm till 5:25 for commercial flights on Saturday.
Likewise, the airport will be closed for commercial flights from 11:20 am to 1:50 pm on Sunday.
High-level visits to Nepal from China
Nepal and China have a long tradition of exchanging high-level visits on a regular basis. The visits have been contributing to further consolidating and strengthening bilateral ties.
Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai visited Nepal on January 25-29, 1957
Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai and Vice Premier Chen Yi on April 26-29, 1960
Deng Xiaoping, in his capacity as Vice Premier, on February 3-6, 1978
Premier Zhou Ziyang on June 4-7, 1981
President Li Xiannian on March 19-23, 1984
Premier Li Peng on November 19-21, 1989
President Jiang Zemin on December 4-5, 1996
Premier Zhu Rongji in May 2001
Premier Wen Jiabao on January 14, 2012
Comment