Photo: Gopen RaiPrime Minister KP Oli left for an eight-day official visit to China on Sunday, leading a sizeable team of ministers, government officials and businessmen.
Photo: MoFAAccompanied by his wife Radhika Shakya, Oli flew to Beijing via Himalayan Airlines, sparking criticism from some on social media for opting to fly with a new private airlines instead of the national flag carrier, Nepal Airlines.
Oli's team includes Foreign Affairs Minister Kamal Thapa, Finance Minister Bishnu Poudel, Commerce Minister Deepak Bohara and Education Minister Giriraj Mani Pokharel. But Supply Minister Ganesh Man Pun has been left off the team.
Pun was working on signing an agreement with China to import one-third of Nepal's fuel needs from across the Himalaya in the wake of a five-month-long Indian blockade. He had publicly stated that PM Oli would sign a fuel deal during his China visit.
But the much-hyped fuel deal, viewed as the first step towards reducing Nepal's dependency on India, was struck off the PM's agenda at the last moment. Oli has reportedly said "the fuel deal was postponed because both countries needed more time to prepare for it."