Kathmandu, Aug 27: A grand tourism promotion between Nepal and China’s Anhui Province was held in the capital city today with participation of politicians, diplomats, government officials and representatives from the tourism fraternity. The speakers of the event stated that Nepal-China cooperation in tourism sector was a win-win situation for both sides and brings diverse civilizations, cultures, peoples and learning together.
The programme was jointly organised by the Kathmandu Office of the China Cultural Center and Anhui Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism.
On the occasion, former Prime Minister Jhalanath Khanal said that Nepal and China have profound opportunities to collaborate in tourism and other development activities. “Nepal and China are not only connected by Himalayas, we are close friends. Also, we are development partners linked by cultural, economic and people to people relations for centuries”, the former PM and senior leader of CPN (Unified Socialist) said.
We are revitalizing the same spirit under the Belt and Road Initiative at present, he added. This tourism promotional event is an outstanding model of common viewpoint in this historical journey, Khanal argued.
Likewise, Sun Yong, the Deputy Governor of Anhui Province, said that the province is a geography with rich cultural and natural heritages as well as a trade hub located in between the rivers and mountains. He shared that the Nepal-China relations have advanced to economic development and prosperity. “We want to make culture and tourism as the foundation of our relations and expect to deepen our relations on trade, business, education and other fronts in the future,” Sun said.
Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song stated that the solution to every development challenge Nepal faces is close to the Chinese model. This delegation from China’s Anhui Province also brings the Anhui model of development for Nepal’s development transformation. He said, “Both Nepal and China’s Anhui Province are prosperous in terms of natural beauty, Buddhist cultural heritages, green industries.”
Ambassador Chen also expressed happiness for enhanced economic, tourism and cultural relations between Nepal and China, and thanked the Pokhara Metropolitan City and Lumbini Development Trust for taking this initiative. Anhui is one of the key touristic province and a leading green city with rich extents of water resources and mountains.
Addressing the event, Industry Secretary Ram Prasad Ghimire shared about rich religious and cultural heritages of Nepal and urged the Chinese entrepreneurs to invest and do business in Nepal. Likewise, CEO of Nepal Tourism Board (NTB) Dipak Raj Joshi urged the Chinese tourists to visit Nepal, one of the attractive destinations for adventure tourism and also requested the Chinese side for more collaboration to share China’s prosperity in Nepal.
Joshi said China is Nepal’s most important tourism markets, and Nepal deeply values the growing number of Chinese travelers who choose Nepal as their destination for culture, nature, and adventure. CEO Joshi believed that cultural and tourism exchanges between Nepal and Anhui can become a model of cooperation, benefitting our people, our economies, and our shared futures.
After the formal inauguration of the event, the Pokhara Metropolitan City and Anhui Province’s Huangshan Municipality signed a memorandum of understanding for tourism cooperation. Like Pokhara in Nepal, Huangshan is also one of the most preferred tourist destinations in China.
Mayor of Pokhara Dhan Raj Acharya and Huangshan’s Deputy Mayor Liu Li singed and exchanged the MoU.
Tourism entrepreneurs, representatives of airlines companies, government officials, and a large number of tour and tourism operators attended the event.
The officials from the railway department, culture department of China’s Anhui Province were present at the event. A video featuring the natural beauties, infrastructure development, tourism products and agricultural development, among other natural heritages was screened on the occasion.
The capital city of Hefei in the province is a powerhouse of EVs in China. The event is expected to attract more Chinese tourists to Nepal and offer right information to the Nepali tour and travel agencies and provide fact-based services to the Nepali tourists to China. This year marks the 70 years of formal diplomatic relations between Nepal and China, and several events are being organized at the government and the private levels to mark the special milestone.
