KATHMANDU, Oct 21: China has agreed to provide 150 million RMB (Rs 2.4 billion) to Nepal Army in the next three years as part of China’s Provision of Military Assistance Gratis to Nepal. An agreement to this effect was signed between Nepal’s Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Ishwar Pokharel and his Chinese counterpart Wei Fenghe in Beijing on Saturday.
Nepal’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) said in a statement that the assistance would be used for humanitarian and disaster relief works.
Nepal to receive Rs 11.4 billion in Chinese aid
China has increased its military assistance, mainly non-lethal assistance, to Nepal Army in recent years. Earlier, China had announced the same amount in assistance to Nepal Army for humanitarian and disaster relief works as part of its package assistance for post-earthquake reconstruction during the visit of Chinese Defence Minister and State Councilor General Chang Wanquan in 2017.
During his meeting with Fenghe, Minister Pokharel said that Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit has taken Nepal-China relations to new heights. He also reiterated Nepal’s commitment for ‘One-China Policy’. Fenghe, on his part, praised friendly relations between Nepal Army and the People’s Liberation Army of China, and said that his government was eager to support Nepal Army in capacity building,
The assistance was first announced during Chinese President Xi Jinping’s recent two-day Nepal visit.
