Prachanda meets Xi, seeks more Chinese aid for Nepal

Nepal`s Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda sought more financial and technical aid from China during his first meeting with Xi Jinping.

Beijing: Nepal`s Maoist leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal alias Prachanda sought more financial and technical aid from China during his first meeting with the country`s new President Xi Jinping here on Thursday.

Hailing the "traditional friendship" between the two countries, Prachanda thanked the Chinese side for its selfless assistance to Nepal, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Known for his pro-China stance in Nepal, Prachanda who heads the Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) is visiting Beijing for the first time after Xi took over as the leader of the ruling Communist Party of China (CPC) and President.

To take the Nepal-China friendship to a higher level, he looks forward to more financial and technical support from Beijing as well as more practical cooperation between the two sides on infrastructure, water conservancy projects and tourism, he said.

China has scaled up its relations with its Himalayan neighbour in the recent years pumping in a lot of aid and resources.

Nepal on its part is cracking down on the Tibetan refugees to prevent the spread of anti-China sentiments.

Prachanda said Nepal will continue to firmly adhere to the one-China policy and he believes that the "Chinese dream" of national rejuvenation will be realised under the leadership of the Communist Party with Xi as the general secretary.

Xi pledged to boost cooperation saying China attaches great importance to bilateral ties with Nepal.

The China-Nepal friendship is not only in the fundamental interests of the two countries and peoples, but also conducive to stability and development in the region, he said.

In pursuit of common development, Xi said China will continue to seek peaceful development and win-win cooperation with Nepal and other neighbouring countries.

After his return from Beijing, Prachanda is also likely to visit India.

PTI

Zee News App: Read latest news of India and world, bollywood news, business updates, cricket scores, etc. Download the Zee news app now to keep up with daily breaking news and live news event coverage.