China, Nepal to mutually set up offices of consulate general

Due to the growing trade and interdependence among each other, Nepal and China have proceeded to set up the office of consulate general in each other's territory.

Once set up, this will be China's first office of the consulate general in Nepali land while the latter will have its third office of consulate general in China.

So far, Nepal has three diplomatic missions in China, Embassy of Nepal in Beijing and two consulate general offices in Lhasa and Hong Kong.

Nepal has been preparing to set up its office of consulate general in Guangzhou, China's third largest city, while the northern neighbor has proposed to establish the office in Pokhara, a tourist hub in central Nepal.

Nepal's trade with China has significantly increased through Guangzhou, making the city a trade hub for Nepal in the recent decade.

"China has dispatched proposal in this regard several times in the past," a high level official at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) told Xinhua Wednesday preferring anonymity.

A bilateral meeting on Sunday in Beijing will make a decision in this regard.

"The establishment of office of consulate general in both countries will be the major agenda of discussion," Nepal's foreign secretary Arjun Thapa told Xinhua, adding the meeting will also ponder on the jurisdiction and the number of staffs in regards to the proposed offices of consulate general.

Nepal's Ministry of Commerce and Supplies (MoCS) has been lobbying the government to propose the Chinese government for the establishment of office of the consulate general in Guangzhou.

"Nepal's trade with China is increasing remarkably and the largest portion of trade is being carried out through Guangzhou," Himal Thapa, a former under secretary at MoCS who specialized in Nepal-Sino trade told Xinhua.