China hands over upgraded hospital project to Nepal

The handover ceremony of a China-aided civil service hospital upgrading and renovation project in Nepal was held in Kathmandu on April 28, 2023. Prime Minister of Nepal Prachanda, Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song, and members of the 14th Chinese medical team to Nepal attended the ceremony.

Prachanda noted that China had provided vaccines, medical equipment and supplies to Nepal throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and that the generous assistance and "sincere unity" from its friendly neighbor will be remembered by Nepal forever. Taking the hospital project as a token of close cooperation between the two countries, he said that China's continuous support to Nepal is helping the country develop in multiple fields, including infrastructure, healthcare services and people's livelihood. Being close neighbors, good friends and trustworthy partners, Nepal is looking forward to a deeper partnership with China in such fields as medical technology, he said.

Chen said that while China has embarked on a new journey to comprehensively build a modern socialist country, Nepal is about to be lifted out of the least developed countries and achieve the United Nations' 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. As partners on the journey of development, China is looking forward to more tangible benefits for the people of both countries through pragmatic bilateral cooperation.

The ceremony was also a celebration of the 60th anniversary of China's foreign medical aid. At the event, Prachanda presented medals of honor to 17 members of the 14th Chinese medical team to Nepal.

The China-aided civil service hospital in Nepal, which was completed in August 2008, is a large comprehensive public hospital. In September 2018, the hospital upgrading project kicked off, including the construction of a new surgical building and upgrades and repairs to the original buildings.