Chinese Co-operation

MINISTER for Information and Communications Krishna Bahadur Mahara, inaugurating the Chinese Book Fair in co-operation with the General Administration of Press and Publications of the People's Republic of China on Wednesday highlighted the role such fairs had in informing the people wanting to learn more about China. Minister Mahara was also optimistic that such activities would continue and that the Government of Nepal would always encourage them. As the people have now become powerful following the emergence of loktantra, there has been accelerated development of the social sector, and it is hoped that China would expand its co-operation to raise the living standards of the Nepalese people. Nepal has always looked upon China as a true friend and the support and cooperation that this country has received in various sectors have been immense. Since diplomatic ties between the two countries were established, the scope of co-operation has increased. However, Nepal, because of the lackluster performance of the previous regimes, could not utilise the assistance received from China to build a prosperous country. Now that the supremacy of the people has been established, it is expected that developments will take a positive turn in every sector. In this respect, To expect further meaningful co-operation and support from the northern neighbour is obvious.

Speaking on the occasion, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Zheng Xianling said that China and Nepal enjoy a long history of bilateral co-operation and goodwill and expressed the hope that the fair would serve as an information centre for people wanting more information on China. The books on display include those in the English, Chinese and Tibetan languages. Such informative fairs ought to be organised regularly so that the people of both the countries can learn more about each other. This will be the basis of strengthened people-to-people ties. China has always been accommodative of Nepal's aspirations, and expanded economic co-operation can be expected in the days to come with China's economy growing at a phenomenal rate. What is needed is for Nepal to learn from the progress made by China so that the country can achieve faster economic growth in the coming years.

Source: The Rising Nepal, June 8, 2007