KATHMANDU: At the invitation of Chinese President Xi Jinping, preparations have been finalized for Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli to lead a Nepali delegation to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit in Tianjin, China.

The summit, regarded as one of the world’s largest regional security and economic groupings, is seen as an important opportunity to strengthen Nepal–China relations and demonstrate Nepal’s active role in multilateral cooperation.

During the visit, PM Oli will hold bilateral talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin, along with leaders of several other participating countries.

So far, meetings have been scheduled with heads of state or government from Vietnam, Maldives, Laos, and Cambodia in addition to China and Russia.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has already released the official program, and a briefing session for the 23-member delegation was held at the Prime Minister’s residence in Baluwatar.

Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai and Chief of Protocol Kumar Raj Kharel provided detailed updates.

PM Oli will brief the House of Representatives on Friday regarding the visit, according to his secretariat.

PM Oli is scheduled to depart for Tianjin on Saturday morning (August 30) and meet President Xi the same evening.

He will also attend the SCO Summit and the 80th anniversary commemoration of China’s resistance against Japanese aggression and the victory in the global anti-fascist war.

On September 1, Oli will address the SCO Summit.

On September 2, he will travel to Beijing to meet Chinese Vice President Han Zheng.

On September 3, he will participate in the anniversary parade marking China’s resistance and anti-fascist victory before returning home that night.

The delegation includes First Lady Radhika Shakya, Minister for Education, Science and Technology Raghuj Panta, Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Badri Prasad Pandey, Nepali Congress lawmaker Purna Bahadur Khadka, PM’s economic advisor Dr. Yubaraj Khatiwada, UML lawmaker Chhabilal Bishwakarma, and senior government officials.