KATHMANDU, Oct 12: Kalyan Raj Sharma, the proposed ambassador to China, has stated that he will play a role in creating an environment to derive maximum tangible benefits from the northern neighbor that includes increasing access to sea ports and dry ports for Nepali traders.
During his hearing at the Parliamentary Hearings Committee held at Singhadurbar on Monday, Sharma said that if entrusted with the role of ambassador, his primary objective would be to foster an environment enabling Nepali citizens and the Government of Nepal to gain practical benefits while maintaining political trust with China.
Sharma noted that sovereign equality, mutual respect, peaceful coexistence, non-interference in internal affairs and Nepal's commitment to the 'One China' policy are among the core foundations of the relationship between the two nations.
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Sharma stated that while ensuring the continued implementation of past agreements, he would focus on expanding access to the Chinese market for Nepali products and tourism development, as well as facilitating the attraction of productive investments.
He added that his efforts would be directed toward making border and transit arrangements reliable, promoting cooperation on disaster resilience, and providing effective consular services to Nepali citizens.
He outlined a plan to connect Nepal to international trade by expediting the operationalization of access routes to four seaports and three dry ports in China under the transit agreement.
In April 2019, during the China visit of the then President Bidya Devi Bhandari, Nepal and China signed the Protocol on Implementing Agreement on transit and transport. The signing of the protocol was supposed to provide access for Nepal to use four Chinese sea ports—in Tianjin, Shenzhen, Lianyungang and Zhanjiang—and three land ports—in Lanzhou, Lhasa and Shigatse—for third-country imports.
The agreement was expected to allow Nepal to carry out exports through six dedicated transit points between Nepal and China. However, it has not been implemented till date.