No agreement has been reached to support China’s GSI: Khatiwada

KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s economic and development advisor, Dr Yubaraj Khatiwada, has clarified that no agreement was reached on Nepal’s support for China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI) during the bilateral meeting between PM Oli and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Speaking to the RSS news agency in Tianjin, China, Dr Khatiwada said that since the government is committed to the Constitution and a non-aligned foreign policy, Nepal cannot be part of any country’s security strategy.

PM Oli met with President Xi in Tianjin on Saturday.

Responding to queries about China’s statement suggesting that Nepal supported the GSI, Dr Khatiwada told RSS, “PM Oli’s visit is primarily for participation in the SCO Summit. Generally, no agreement or memorandum of understanding is signed on the sidelines of such conferences. Therefore, it is incorrect to claim that Nepal supported the GSI when no such agreement was made.”

However, discussions were held on advancing the effective implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Framework Agreement, he added.