16. Aug 2005
PRC pledges $12.3 million aid to Nepal
An agreement signed in Beijing between Chinese Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing and his Nepalese counterpart, Ramesh Nath Pandey, stipulates that the PRC will pledge additional aid of US$12.3 million (£6,853,130; €10,120,969) to Nepal. The aid comes in addition to the US$11,482,375 (£6,397,578; €9,448,192.00) that Beijing has committed to Nepal as annual development assistance, to be used for any purpose, from buying arms to paying civil servants' salaries. Furthermore, according to the Indo-Asian News Service, China has agreed to allow Nepal to use its Tibet highway. With the Maoist insurgents often blocking highways in remote districts, Nepal 's northernmost districts such as Jumla and Humla, which lie adjacent to the Tibetan border, face a scarcity of food and essential goods. According to the agreement with Beijing, supplies can now be taken from Kathmandu to Khasa on Nepal's side of the border, cross into Tibet and from there follow the Tibetan highway to reach Nepal's northern districts.