The long tradition of foreign diplomatic envoys presenting their
credentials to the Nepali king has been broken as the newly
appointed Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Zheng Xianglin, presented
his credentials to Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala at the PM's
Office at Singha Durbar in Kathmandu Thursday.
During the ceremony, Zheng said, "I am greatly honored to have
been appointed as ambassador of the People's Republic of China to
Nepal. I will endeavor to contribute my share to furthering the
friendship between China and Nepal."
Koirala told the Chinese ambassador that Nepal-China relations
have a long history and that there is no problem in the friendly
ties between the two peoples.
"I hope the young generation will continue the friendly ties
between Nepal and China," he said.
The Nepali government earlier decided that the prime minister,
not the king, will receive the credentials of foreign diplomatic
envoys.
Zheng arrived in Kathmandu on April
10.????
(Xinhua News Agency April 20, 2007)