Belt and Road Initiative

December 4, 2024 5:46 PM

Nepal, China sign deal on Belt and Road plan, paving way for progress on projects

Nepal has signed a framework agreement with China on the Belt and Road initiative, after an initial pact was signed seven years ago but no progress made since, paving the way for cooperation on projects, its foreign ministry said on Wednesday. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli has been in Beijing since Monday on a four-day visit, his first to a foreign country since his July swearing-in, breaking tradition by not making New Delhi, with which Kathmandu has centuries-old ties, his first foreign port...

October 16, 2024 1:46 PM

Pakistan calls for expansion of China’s Belt and Road Initiative at regional meeting

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif called on Wednesday for the expansion of China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to enhance regional cooperation at a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Islamabad. He was addressing a heads of government meeting of the SCO, a Eurasian security and political group formed in 2001, being attended by officials from 11 countries, including host Pakistan, China, Russia and India. "Flagship projects like the Belt and Road Initiative of ...

June 19, 2024 5:34 PM

China eyes plan to connect Southeast Asian rail links

China said it was willing to study a plan to connect Malaysia's $10-billion East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) to other China-backed railway projects in Laos and Thailand, potentially expanding Beijing's Belt and Road initiative across Southeast Asia. Chinese Premier Li Qiang, who is on a three-day visit to Malaysia, said on Wednesday the proposal would make the central line of a proposed Pan-Asia Railway, running from Kunming in China to Singapore, a reality. "This will better promote the constructi...

May 9, 2024 3:57 PM

Gunmen in Pakistan kill seven labourers near Gwadar port, say police

Gunmen shot and killed seven labourers near southwestern Pakistan's Gwadar port early on Thursday, police said. Police official Mohsin Ali said the gunmen stormed into a house some 25 km (15 miles) east of the port city and shot and killed the labourers in their sleep. The port city is located in troubled southwestern Balochistan province, which borders Afghanistan and Iran. No one has claimed responsibility. Baloch separatist militants have in the past targeted labourers from eastern Punjab...

March 28, 2024 12:28 PM

Malaysia open to extending China-led rail project to Thai border

Malaysia's government has said it would consider extending a $10 billion China-led rail project to its border with Thailand to boost economic ties between the Southeast Asian neighbours. Part of China's Belt and Road Initiative, the 665-kilometre, 50.27 billion ringgit ($10.63 billion) railway is on track to connect the east and west coasts of peninsular Malaysia by the end of 2026. Malaysia's Transport Minister Anthony Loke said on Wednesday the government was open to proposals to extend the ...

March 26, 2024 11:50 AM

Pakistan second-largest naval air station PNS Siddique in Turbat under attack

Pakistan's second-largest naval air station, PNS Siddique in Turbat, has been attacked with gunfire and multiple explosions have been reported from the area. The Majeed Brigade of the proscribed Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Naval Airbase in Turbat. The Majeed Brigade is opposed to China's investments in the province of Balochistan and accuses China and Pakistan of exploiting the region's resources. The BLA claims that its fighters have ent...