Deputy Prime Minister Bijay Gachhadar, Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar and other ministers welcome Prime Minister Oli in Kathmandu on Sunday. Photo: RSS

After a week-long tour in China, Prime Minister KP Oli returned to Kathmandu on Sunday.

At a press conference at Tribhuvan International Airport, Oli informed that he has invited Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Keqiang to visit Nepal. “I am hopeful that they will visit Nepal within this year,” he said.

In Beijing, Oli signed 10 agreements with China on trade, transit, connectivity and banking. He said that the transit deal was an important achievement of his China visit. “This agreement allows us to reach the sea via China,” he said.

Oli noted that the aim of his visit was to take the Nepal-China relations to new heights and prepare frameworks for economic cooperation between the two countries.

Foreign Affairs Minister Kamal Thapa, who accompanied Oli to China, said that the countries would soon start preparations for the implementation of the transit agreement.

Nepal had realised the need for an alternative transit route after India choked off the supply of fuel and other essential commodities to the landlocked nation for five months in support of Madhesi parties.

Foreign affairs experts say the Kathmandu-Beijing transit deal is an indication of a paradigm shift in Nepal’s relations with its neighbours, especially India. “The transit deal has paved the way for Nepal to end our dependency on India,” said UML leader Rajan Bhattarai, who is also one of the members of the government committee reviewing Nepal’s relations with India.

Meanwhile, Nepal Army Chief Rajendra Chhetri flew to China on Sunday at the official invitation from his Chinese counterpart Gen Fang Fenghui.