KATHMANDU, July 21: Home secretary-level talks between Nepal and China on bolstering security arrangements along the Nepal-China border are set to kick off Monday in the Chinese capital, Beijing.
Home Secretary Sushil Jung Bahadur Rana left for Beijing on Saturday at the head of a seven-member Nepalese delegation to take part in the six-day meeting.
The meeting is aimed at discussing ways to curb criminal and other unwanted activities along the Nepal-China border, said Home Ministry officials.
A vice minister level official from China´s Public Security Ministry will lead the Chinese delegation at the meeting.
The meeting is taking place at a time when the Chinese side is raising concerns over the movement of Tibetans on the Nepali side and smuggling of red sandalwood along the Nepal-China border. The meeting is expected to discuss in detail how the security agencies of the two countries can enhance cooperation and ensure effective coordination to tackle illegal activities along the border.
Deputy Spokesperson at the Home Ministry Ek Mani Nepal said the two countries will also discuss ways to ensure exchange of information on a real-time basis to control illegal activities in the border areas. "This is a regular meeting to enhance security cooperation between the two sides of the Nepal-China border," he said.
Home secretary-level talks between Nepal and China are held every two years with the venue alternating between the two capitals. The first such meeting was held in Kathmandu on July 26, 2010. The upcoming meeting will review the progress since that first meeting.
The Nepalese delegation includes AIG Arjun Jung Bahadur Rana from the Nepal Police, AIG Durja Kumar Rai from the Armed Police Force and Investigation Director Nawa Raj Thapa from the National Investigation Department. Joint Secretary Ambika Luitel, who heads the North East, South East and Far East Asia Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and Under Secretaries at the Home Ministry Ek Mani Nepal and Shambhu Ghimire are also in the delegation.
While home secretary-level talks between Nepal and China take place every two years, joint-secretary level meetings between the two countries take place every year. As per an arrangement between the two countries, chief district officers (CDOs) from Nepal meet their Chinese counterparts as and when required.
Though the Chinese side is asking Nepal to formalize the three-tier mechanism in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), sources said there will be no such deal during this meeting.
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