China did not invite Nepal in Boao Forum for Asia meet: Report

Nepal is one of the founding members of the Boao Forum for Asia.

Officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told The Kathmandu Post they did not have any idea why Beijing did not send an invitation to Nepal.

“I am a bit surprised to learn that Nepal was not invited to the conference,” Rupak Sapkota, deputy executive director at the Institute of Foreign Affairs, told the newspaper.

According to Sapkota, who holds a PhD from the School of International Studies, Renmin University of China, the way Nepal’s internal politics has unfolded in the recent past suggests there could be some displeasure on the Chinese side.

“No matter what the reason is, we as the founding member being missed out does carry some meaning,” Sapkota told the Post.

Analysts told the newspaper that there should have been an invitation to Nepal at the highest levels on such an occasion because Nepal is one of the founding members.

“They [Chinese] do not invite all the countries every year. We had our participation at the highest levels in the past, but we did not get an invitation in 2019 too,” said Leela Mani Paudyal, a former bureaucrat who also served as Nepal’s ambassador to Beijing from 2016 to 2020.

“Yes, it would have been definitely good had we been invited, as the participation is virtual. I cannot say what could be the exact reason for not sending an invitation.”