WEBSITE DEVELOPER FROM NEPAL

KATHMANDU, Dec 2 - Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has arrived here in the capital Tuesday evening for a three-day visit to Nepal leading a 10-member Chinese delegation. The visit of the northern neighbour’s foreign minister comes a week after Indian Minister for External Affairs Pranab Mukherjee’s trip to Nepal. The Chinese foreign minister, who came to Nepal on the invitation of his Nepali counterpart Upendra Yadav, will attend a dinner party organised by Yadav to night. Jiechi is scheduled to call on Prime Minister Pushap Kamla Dahal and President Dr Ram Baran Yadav on Wednesday. According to a foreign ministry source, the Chinese Foreign Minister will discuss the peace process and bilateral cooperation among other issues with his counterpart.

The visit is also expected to prepare the groundwork for Prime Minister Dahal's visit to China, which will probably take place early next year.

Last week, a Chinese military delegation headed by a major general was in the capital. Later this week, another Chinese military delegation led by a lieutenant-general will be in Nepal, according to sources at the Ministry of Defence.

"Areas of bilateral cooperation will be identified during the discussion," added the source.

"Possible areas of cooperation include building a dry port north of Kathmandu and creation of a special economic zone in Panchkhal of Kavre district."

The Chinese government provides an annual a grant of Rs. 8 billion with which China-aided projects are funded, he said.

Recent Chinese assistance has been used to build the 16-kilometre Syabrubesi-Rasuwagadhi highway, lay optical fibre between Kathmandu and the Nepal-China border and hospital for civil servants. Agreements on building the headquarters of National Trust for Nature Conservation in Lalitpur district and an Ayurvedic research centre in Kathmandu have already been signed.

A US $ 200 million loan from the Export Import Bank of China, some of which would be used to commission the 60-megawatt Upper Trishuli III hydropower project, is also on the pipeline, the source said.