Kathmandu gears up for Xi’s much-awaited visit

Kathmandu / Oct 11: Preparations are in full swing in Kathmandu to welcome Chinese President Xi Jinping who will be arriving tomorrow on a two-day state visit to Nepal at the invitation of President Bidya Devi Bhandari.

Addressing a program in the capital on Friday, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli said that Chinese President to Nepal will be a historic one as such a high level visit is taking place after a hiatus of 23 years.

Then Chinese President Jiang Jemin had paid a visit to Nepal on December 4 and 5, 1996 at the invitation of King Birendra.

During the visit, Xi is scheduled to meet his Nepali counterpart Bhandari on Saturday evening at the presidential palace. Bhandari will host a banquet in honor of the Chinese President and his delegation on the same day at Hotel Soaltee.

Likewise, President Xi will hold delegation level official talks with Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli at Hotel Soaltee.

Following the talks, both leaders will witness the signing of bilateral agreements, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The ruling Nepal Communist Party Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Dueba and senior political leaders will hold separate meetings with Xi.

Xi will be directly flying to Kathmandu from Mamallapuram near Chennai in India where the Chinese President and Prime Minister Narendra Modi are holding informal meeting today and tomorrow morning as a continuation of Wuhan Summit held in April in China last year.

Various places including Tribhuvan International Airport, Tinkune, Baneshwor, Babarmahal, Naxal, Tripureshwar, Bhadrakali, Kesharmahal, Durbarmarga, Sundhara, Nagpokhari, Hattisar, Kalimati, Solteemod have been decorated to welcome the Chinese top leader.

Flex banners and temporary welcome gates have been installed in major parts of the city to welcome the high-powered Chinese delegation. Major road sections inside the capital have been renovated and blacktopped ahead of the visit.