Ambassador Paudyal,
Representatives of the diplomatic corps in Beijing,
Members of the Nepali community in China, Media-persons, and Friends:

I am glad to be here amongst you this evening.
I arrived in Beijing this morning for my first official visit to China as Minister of Foreign Affairs.

I bring with me the greetings and best wishes of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, and the Government and people of Nepal, to President Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, and the Government and people of China.

The people of Nepal extend their sincere congratulations to the Chinese people for the remarkable achievements of the past 7 decades of nation building and the four decades of opening up and reform.

I myself would like to congratulate the Chinese Communist Party, as well as the Government and the people of China for successful conclusion of 19^th CPC congress in October 2017 and the two sessions in March 2018 that have come up with major policies of opening up and inclusive development for shared benefits.

Nepal is happy to witness the peaceful development of China and sees greater prospects for global economic development and stability with increased involvement of China in managing global affairs based on principles of peaceful coexistence, Pancha Sheela”.

Nepal too has made historic achievements in the political realms in the past year by successfully concluding all the major milestones mandated by the Constitution through the successful holding of the three tiers of elections.

The concept of grassroots government as envisaged by the Constitution is finally a reality.

We now have a government that commands the confidence of more than 2/3^rd members of the Parliament.

More importantly, we have embarked on the road of durable peace, political stability, and socio-economic transformation.

The vision propounded by PM Oli as “Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepalis” is the vision of a society where people will enjoy decent lives and the young people will have productive jobs.

We are fully confident that we will achieve our cherished goals of creating a peaceful, stable and prosperous society in the foreseeable future.

Dear Friends:

We greatly value our relations with China and appreciate the continued support to the people of Nepal by China irrespective of major political changes in Nepal and changes in the outside world.

Tomorrow, I will hold a bilateral-level talk with State Councilor and Minister for Foreign Affairs H.E. Wang Yi and also call on the state leaders during my stay in Beijing.

I will also visit Chengdu and meet provincial leaders for cooperation before leaving for Nepal.

We will discuss all aspects of Nepal-China relations, and exchange views on further expanding and deepening them.

I will also emphasize the significance of frequent exchanges of high level political visits for further strengthening relations of trust and friendship.

Dear friends,

Last year, Nepal and China signed an MoU on co-operation under the Belt and Road Initiative.

Earlier in 2016 we signed a number of agreements and reached  various understandings for promoting mutually beneficial cooperation.

In 2017, Vice-President Rt. Hon’ble Nanda Bahadur Pun and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ visited China.

Deputy Prime Minister Krishna Bahadur Mahara paid two visits during the same period.

Vice-Premier of China H.E. Wang Yang paid a very important and productive visit to Nepal in 2017.

Similarly, Chinese investors have been showing keen interest in investing in Nepal, and the number of Chinese tourists visiting Nepal is also increasing rapidly.

These activities have enhanced Nepal-China co-operative relations, and we should keep up the momentum.

In this context, I am happy to note that Nepal-China co-operation has been expanding in multiple directions in recent years and there is great potential to expand it.

We need to enhance them further in the spirit of good neighborliness and friendliness for mutual benefit.

Dear Friends:

To make the vision of a prosperous Nepal a reality, we will focus on laying the physical, economic and social infrastructure and exploit the full potentials of the rich resource endowments that we are blessed with.

To attain this noble objective, we need the support and understanding of all, including the Nepali nationals residing abroad.

I invite all Nepalis, both at home and abroad, to contribute from their respective ends to realize this momentous goal of nation-building.

Dear Friends:

Today, we launched the book “The Selected Speeches of Prime Minister KP Oli”, translated into Chinese.

The publication of this anthology reflects the interest in China regarding Nepal’s recent political developments. Readers of this publication will learn of Prime Minister Oli’s views on important contemporary issues as well as his vision for a prosperous and forward-looking Nepal.

I express my sincerest thanks to Pangoal Institute and South Asian Institute of Sichuan University for their initiative and support in bringing out this publication.

Dear Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen:

Before I conclude, let me share with you that China has been very supportive of the all-round development of Nepal and such support and goodwill has been of crucial significance.

We look forward to similar support, goodwill and understanding in the days ahead as we embark on the road of socio-economic development in the country.

Let me also express my sincere appreciation to the Embassy for its efforts in strengthening Nepal-China relations through its activities.

With these few words, I would like to express my sincere thanks to you all for your presence here today, and wish you all the best!

Thank you!