Nepal army chief returns from China visit

Nepal's Chief of Army Staff Gaurav Shumsher Rana on Sunday returned from Beijing, China, after a 10-day official visit at the invitation of General Fang Fenghui, chief of General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Rana was received by Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Wu Chuntai and high ranking officials of Nepal Army and the Ministry of Defense at Tribhuvan International Airport, Kathmandu.

Rana led a five-member delegation of Nepali military officials during his visit from July 19 to 28, said a statement released from Nepal Army headquarters.

The visit was successful in strengthening bilateral ties between the two neighbors, added the statement.

During the visit, Rana held talks with Fang Fenghui and extended invitation to the Chinese counterpart to visit Nepal. Earlier, the then Chinese General Chen Bingde visited Nepal in 2011.

"Nepal and China have bilateral relations since ancient time. Our mutual cooperation, friendship and relations will further deepen in the days ahead," Fang Fenghui said during the interaction.

"The centuries old friendly relations between Nepal and China entered a new phase with the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1955. Since then, the mutual high level political and military visits have been strengthening our relations," Rana said.

During the visit, the two sides signed an agreement under which China will provide two mobile hospitals worth 59 million RMB (9.44 million U.S. dollars) which will be used during natural disasters.

China further pledged an additional military support of 50 million RMB soon.

Rana also met with various high level Chinese military officials and visited military regions in China's Yunnan Shanxi, Nanjing and Beijing.