Nepal and China have reaffirmed cooperation in the fields of literature, arts and culture under the Belt and Road Initiative to promote bilateral ties, Chancellor of the Nepal Academy Ganga Prasad Uprety said on Tuesday.
During a recent meeting between officials of the Nepal Academy and the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles in Kathmandu, the two sides vowed to enhance their partnership in literature, arts and culture under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Proposed by China in 2013, the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Initiative aims to build an infrastructure and trade network that spans across the globe, linking Asia with Europe and Africa, along the ancient Silk Road trading routes.
The two organizations have renewed their Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation last week for five years, which was signed for the first time in 2011.
"The two organizations aim to support each other to further strengthen the exchanges and cooperation in culture and art, and enhance the understanding and friendship between the two peoples within the Belt and Road framework," Uprety said.
The promotion of the people-to-people bond between the two countries is one of the key components of this Belt and Road Initiative.
The MoU states that Nepali and Chinese literature experts will hold conferences in each other's country to share ideas in the field of literature, language and arts.
Similarly, important Chinese and Nepali literary books will be translated and distributed in each other's country. "This MoU will be helpful to strengthen the cultural cooperation between Nepal and China," Uprety said.
Nepal and China had signed a cooperation agreement on the Belt and Road Initiative last month and one of the key components of the agreement is to promote culture and people-to-people bond.
The Nepal Academy is a state-owned institution established to promote languages, literature, culture, philosophy and social sciences in Nepal.
