Kathmandu, Dec 5: Nepali Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli reiterated that no loan agreement has been made with northern neighbour China while signing the revised Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) pact.
Speaking to journalists after arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport on Thursday after completing his four-day visit to China, Oli reiterated that no loan agreements have been made with Beijing.
“This time we discussed about various projects under the BRI. We will hold separate discussions and consultations as well as agreements about those projects relating to its plan of implementation. What we are getting now (from China) is not a loan, I hope I will not need to clarify it and repeat it further,” he said.
PM Oli further said that the pact is not about a loan and there have been no talks about any loan agreement. “We have been reiterating that no loans are being taken from various fronts but also it hasn’t settled down,” the Prime Minister said.
He added that discussions on implementing nine projects under the Belt and Road Initiative would take place separately in the future. “Every project under the BRI will be discussed separately between the two countries during implementation,” Oli said.
Notably, the agreement signed on Wednesday between the two countries formally got inked after the term “aid financing” was replaced with “grant financing.”
While a grant refers to a subsidy, aid can encompass both grants and loans, offering more flexibility in the terms of assistance.
The shift in language came after China rejected Nepal’s proposal that the projects under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) should be funded by China and that Nepal would not take loans under the BRI. (ANI)
