Kathmandu, a day before Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' lost a vote of confidence in Parliament, gave its nod to a deal to connect the Himalayan nation with China by rail under Beijing's ambitious Belt and Road Initiative.
Citing government sources, news portal MyRepublica said this decision has more operational than political significance and aligns with Nepal's participation in Chinese President Xi Jinping's multibillion-dollar pet infrastructure project.
"The Cabinet meeting held on Thursday decided to approve the 'Strengthening Development Cooperation in Building Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network' agreement between Nepal and China," Communications Minister and Government Spokesperson Rekha Sharma said. according to the report.
However, one minister downplayed its immediate impact, stating: “This is an initial decision; The details of project implementation and modalities of the BRI are yet to be finalized.”
'Prachanda' lost the vote of confidence in Parliament on Friday after his coalition partner, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), withdrew support, a development that will lead to the formation of a new government led by the former prime minister. Minister KP Sharma Oli.
Prachanda received only 63 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives (CoR) and there were 194 votes against the motion. At least 138 votes are needed to win the vote of confidence. A total of 258 HoR members participated in the vote and one member abstained.
Prachanda's move, taken just before leaving office, is seen not only as progress towards the implementation of BRI projects, but also crucial for initiatives such as the Kerung-Kathmandu railway and broader infrastructure development along the border between Nepal and China, according to the report.
Earlier, before signing a power-sharing agreement with UML, the Nepali Congress had decided to “accept only grants and not loans under the BRI project.” The government was also due to decide on the implementation of the 2017 BRI agreement with China, which has been pending in the cabinet.
The BRI has raised global concerns about China's debt diplomacy by providing huge loans to smaller countries for unsustainable infrastructure projects. The Hambantota port, which was financed with a Chinese loan, was leased to Beijing in a 99-year debt-for-equity swap in 2017 after Sri Lanka defaulted on the debt.
India has protested to China over the BRI's flagship $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which is stretching across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Citing government sources, news portal MyRepublica said this decision has more operational than political significance and aligns with Nepal's participation in Chinese President Xi Jinping's multibillion-dollar pet infrastructure project.
"The Cabinet meeting held on Thursday decided to approve the 'Strengthening Development Cooperation in Building Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network' agreement between Nepal and China," Communications Minister and Government Spokesperson Rekha Sharma said. according to the report.
However, one minister downplayed its immediate impact, stating: “This is an initial decision; The details of project implementation and modalities of the BRI are yet to be finalized.”
'Prachanda' lost the vote of confidence in Parliament on Friday after his coalition partner, the Communist Party of Nepal-Unified Marxist Leninist (CPN-UML), withdrew support, a development that will lead to the formation of a new government led by the former prime minister. Minister KP Sharma Oli.
Prachanda received only 63 votes in the 275-member House of Representatives (CoR) and there were 194 votes against the motion. At least 138 votes are needed to win the vote of confidence. A total of 258 HoR members participated in the vote and one member abstained.
Prachanda's move, taken just before leaving office, is seen not only as progress towards the implementation of BRI projects, but also crucial for initiatives such as the Kerung-Kathmandu railway and broader infrastructure development along the border between Nepal and China, according to the report.
Earlier, before signing a power-sharing agreement with UML, the Nepali Congress had decided to “accept only grants and not loans under the BRI project.” The government was also due to decide on the implementation of the 2017 BRI agreement with China, which has been pending in the cabinet.
The BRI has raised global concerns about China's debt diplomacy by providing huge loans to smaller countries for unsustainable infrastructure projects. The Hambantota port, which was financed with a Chinese loan, was leased to Beijing in a 99-year debt-for-equity swap in 2017 after Sri Lanka defaulted on the debt.
India has protested to China over the BRI's flagship $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor project, which is stretching across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
