KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is scheduled to leave for China on August 30 aboard a chartered Himalayan Airlines flight, according to sources at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He will fly directly from Kathmandu to Tianjin.

During the visit, Prime Minister Oli will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Summit, to be held in Tianjin on August 31 and September 1. Nepal has been a dialogue partner of the SCO since 2020, and this will mark the first high-level participation from Nepal in the organization’s summit.

The Prime Minister will be accompanied by Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, Joint Secretary (China Division) Bhrigu Dhungana, Chief of Protocol Kumar Kharel, PM’s advisor Bishnu Rimal, and security officials. Officials confirmed that the visit will be undertaken by a small delegation.

In China, PM Oli is expected to hold a bilateral meeting with President Xi Jinping, with discussions likely to cover Nepal–China relations, infrastructure development, and regional cooperation.

This will be Oli’s second trip to China since assuming office. In December last year, he paid a four-day official visit during which Nepal and China signed several key agreements.