According to Congress's position, Prime Minister Oli agreed to take only subsidy for BRI, this time Oli's insistence on making a deal, but Congress is in favor of implementing old commitments.
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The ruling Congress and UML have yet to come to an agreement on the agenda of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli's upcoming visit to China. The two major parties are in the process of making an agreement on whether to agree on the BRI implementation plan, whether to take only subsidies from China or take loans from China under the BRI.
As the ruling party could not reach an agreement, Thursday's Cabinet meeting neither announced the date of the Prime Minister's visit to China nor decided on the agenda. On an unofficial level, preparations are being made for the Prime Minister's visit to China from November 17 to 21.
The Prime Minister had prepared to pass the agenda of the visit to China at the cabinet meeting on Thursday. However, since there is no agreement on whether to take loans from China or only grants, the two parties have not been able to reach a consensus on the BRI implementation plan agreement. Nepal signed the Memorandum of Understanding on BRI in 2017. However, so far no project has been started in Nepal.
Prime Minister Oli, who has agreed to take only subsidies according to the Congress's stand, wants to sign the implementation plan agreement. It is not said to make an agreement on the implementation plan, it is only to agree. Therefore, the prime minister's argument is that since it is not even related to a certain project, it does not matter if it is signed," said an official near Baluwatar.
Prime Minister Oli tried to make it clear from the Council of Ministers meeting on Thursday. According to a minister of the government, Oli himself told the ministers that he would only accept grants without taking loans. Quoting Prime Minister Oli's words, the minister said, "The visit to China is historic. Nepal will achieve the most achievements so far.
Oli also hinted to go to India after visiting China. "Wherever the first invitation comes, go there. After visiting China, he will also go there (India),' said Oli. He also hinted that not everything will be in writing, giving the example of the then Prime Minister BP Koirala's visit to India.
'After the 2015 election, when visiting India, the then Prime Minister BP carried a written agenda in his pocket, but as soon as he went there, Nehru raised the security agenda, then BP made it clear that Nepal is a sovereign country, and security is not under anyone's umbrella. Therefore, not all topics are written, decisions should be made based on the current situation,' said a minister quoting Oli's statement.
About Prime Minister's visit agenda and BRI implementation plan agreement, Prime Minister's economic advisor Yuvraj Khatiwada said that some ideas have been exchanged between UML and Congress but an agreement is yet to be reached. We (Congress and UML) had a general discussion about what should be improved in the draft implementation plan. We have discussed whether there are any technical issues or controversial proposals," said Khatiwada, who is also a former finance minister. The meeting should be held again.'
Prime Minister Oli and Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba have assigned Congress General Minister Gagan Thapa, Prime Minister's Economic and Development Advisor Khatiwada and Political Advisor Bishnu Rimal to reach an agreement on the BRI implementation plan agreement with China. Before the meeting of the Cabinet on Thursday, a discussion was held between Prime Minister Oli and members of the working group at the Prime Minister's Office, Singh Darbar. "Other countries should not be interested in the economic relations between the two countries. Just as it happened to us in MCC,' Khatiwada said to Kantipur, 'we have exchanged views on how to handle the relationship between the governments, economic institutions and people of the two countries. Rather than whether or not to make an implementation plan agreement, technical issues have been discussed.'
Congress leaders have been suggesting that instead of making additional and new agreements, it would be appropriate to make the agenda of the visit the delay in the implementation of the commitments expressed during the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping in Nepal in 2019. Stating that the Chinese commitment worth around one billion rupees cannot be implemented, they have emphasized that trust should be maintained by moving this issue forward. "The old agreements and commitments, some due to our weakness, some due to China, have not moved forward. It is the opinion of the Congress that if we can create a new environment of trust in order to implement it, it will become a basis for reaching further agreements," said a leader. An agreement has not yet been reached.'
According to Baluwatar sources, a parallel discussion is going on about how to proceed with the BRI Implementation Plan Agreement and the project proposed by China under it. China has sent a proposal some time ago with a list of areas it wants to cooperate with under the BRI. There are proposals for hydroelectricity, dry ports, tunnels, transmission lines, road infrastructure, and the construction of a park in Damak. However, it is not clear whether the project will be subsidized or loaned," another minister said. "After the Prime Minister said not to take loans, now it seems that he can only go for subsidies."
