Nepaldiplomat has learned that the former President Bidya Devi Bhandari is scheduled to visit China at the end of June, following an official invitation from the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Bhandari, who previously visited China in 2019 during her presidency, is set to arrive in Beijing on June 29.
Accompanying Bhandari on this visit will be her daughter, Ushakiran Bhandari, and a few close associates, a source close to Bhandari informed nepaldiplomat.com.
This marks her first international trip since retiring from the presidency one and a half years ago, after serving two terms.
Despite leaving office, Bhandari remains politically and socially active. Recently, she was honored with the ‘Ganatantra Gaurav’ award by the CPN-UML, Nepal’s largest communist party.
Sources involved in the preparations indicate that Bhandari’s visit may last up to 10 days.
She will spend two days in Beijing, followed by two days in Xi’an, and then travel to Lhasa via Chengdu.
During her time in Beijing, Bhandari is expected to meet with key leaders of the Chinese Communist Party.
In April 2019, Bhandari made a historic state visit to China, becoming the first Nepalese president to do so. During this visit, she met with Chinese President Xi Jinping and attended the first Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) Forum.
The discussions led to an agreement on the ‘Trans-Himalayan Multidimensional Connectivity Network’ and the advancement of the Nepal-China cross-border railway under the BRI framework. Additionally, a protocol on a trade and transit agreement was signed.
President Xi Jinping reciprocated with a visit to Nepal in 2019, the first state-level visit from a Chinese leader in 23 years, following Bhandari’s invitation. During his visit, the two neighbors agreed to upgrade their relations to a “strategic partnership”.
