Nepal and China have agreed to further strengthen and enhance the cooperation and coordination in the fields of forests conservation and management, wildlife conservation and law enforcement along trans-border areas, and to share the best knowledge, experiences and practices.

This was agreed during a first ministerial meeting between Nepal and China held in Kathmandu from February 22-25 for the first time after a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on Forestry and Biodiversity conservation was signed on June 3, 2010 in Beijing.

Jia Zhibang, Administrator, State Forests Administration of People's Republic of China, had visited Nepal from February 22-25, 2012 at the invitation of Minister for Forests and Soil Conservation Wakil Musalman, for the meeting.

In joint working group meeting, both countries shared the experiences of forestry sector.  In addition, the group discussed on thirteen different proposals for future cooperation in the areas of biodiversity conservation, regional cooperation in wildlife conservation and law enforcement, poverty reduction through forest development, capacity building etc.

Both parties reviewed the progress made on since the MoU was signed in 2011 and expressed their satisfaction with the progress so far made.  With a view to further deepen the cooperation between two countries; the Meeting agreed to hold biennial ministerial meeting alternatively in both countries. In the field of biodiversity conservation, both countries expressed their commitment to implement the obligations of the international agreements and conventions including CITES. On the proposition of participation in the South Asia Wildlife Enforcement Network (SA-WEN), both agreed to be engaged in the work of the Network and share the best Chinese experience on Tiger conservation at bilateral and regional level.

The Sino-Nepal Joint Forest working Groups realized that extensive implementation of MoU will further strengthen the cooperation in the fields of biodiversity conservation, forests management and protection of wildlife in terms of working together, developing knowledge, skills and capacities through sharing information, organizing visits and transferring technologies.

During the meeting, matter of bilateral and regional importance on forestry and biodiversity sector were discussed. The two  leaders emphasized the needs of further enrich the close cooperation between the two countries by organizing good will and professional visits, sharing information, technologies and best practices.

At the end, the participants reaffirmed their solidarity with the people of Nepal and China and their commitment in supporting and strengthening institutional and human capacity related to sustainable development. nepalnews.com