KATHMANDU, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Nepal's foreign policy experts and political party leaders have hailed the outcomes of the Second Belt and Road Forum (BRF) for International Cooperation held in Beijing on April 26-27.
Former Nepali Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal, who is also one of the senior leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party, told Xinhua on Sunday that the BRF witnessed the participation of heads of state and government from so many countries while showing their commitment to the initiative.
"This forum has been extremely fruitful to chart out the future path of the Belt and Road Initiative. Participating countries like Nepal who are still least developed want to reap benefit from the BRI in coming days," Khanal said.
Khanal said that Nepal is hoping to have enhanced connectivity through trans-Himalayan railway with China and the rest of the world under the BRI framework.
Former Foreign Secretary of Nepal, Madhuraman Acharya, said that the inclusion of Nepal-China Trans-Himalayan Multi Dimensional Connectivity and Nepal-China cross border railway in the Belt and Road Forum Joint Communique is a good progress in terms of implementing BRI projects in Nepal.
"Now, the two countries should work together for executing projects including Nepal-China cross border railway under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative in an expeditious manner," he said.
Rajendra Bahadur Shrestha, former chairman of Nepal Council of World Affairs, told Xinhua that the second Belt and Road Forum was able to create a convincing environment for partner countries in the BRI.
"At a time when the Westerners have been raising the concern of debt traps, the BRF was able to create an environment of trust by addressing the major BRI concerns like transparency, quality control, accountability and its dominance," he observed.
Shrestha said that the BRI has opened up new space for global economic growth. "Instead of merely focusing on conventional economy based on production and supplies, China has diversified the concept of economy lately," he viewed.
China has been creating a win-win situation through the Belt and Road Initiative for all its participating countries in connectivity or trade and investment, he said.
"I feel people-to-people connection is another beauty of BRI, which could improve the living of people. BRI is a participatory approach which doesn't just benefit China, but all the member countries," he added.
The joint communique issued by the Leaders' Roundtable of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on Saturday included the Nepal-China Trans-Himalayan Multidimensional Connectivity Network on the list of economic corridors.
Leading a high-powered delegation, Nepali President Bidya Devi Bhandari attended the Leaders' Roundtable of the Second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation on Saturday.
