KATHMANDU: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli’s economic and development adviser, Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada, has denied that Nepal agreed to support China’s Global Security Initiative (GSI) during Oli’s recent meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Speaking to Rastriya Samachar Samiti (RSS), the former finance minister said Nepal remains committed to its constitution and non-aligned foreign policy and will not become part of any country’s security strategy.

Oli and Xi met on August 30 in Tianjin on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Plus summit.

Following the meeting, a Chinese press release claimed that Nepal had expressed support for the GSI. Khatiwada, however, disputed this, saying:

“Prime Minister Oli’s visit was primarily for the SCO Plus summit. Normally, there are no agreements or signings during such sideline meetings, and none were made this time. To suggest that Nepal backed the GSI without any agreement is completely misleading.”

Khatiwada said the discussions instead focused on the implementation of previously signed frameworks, including the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

He urged Nepali media and social media commentators to verify facts before spreading claims about Nepal’s foreign policy commitments.

According to him, the two sides discussed expanding connectivity, industrial and infrastructure development, health cooperation, agriculture, trade, tourism, investment, science and technology, sports, disaster management, people-to-people relations, and poverty reduction.

He added that China has always shown readiness to support Nepal’s socio-economic transformation.

During Oli’s previous official visit to China, agreements were signed in the presence of Premier Li Qiang on projects such as the Tokha–Chhahare tunnel road, boosting Nepal–China trade, and exporting buffalo meat to China.