1st China-supported demonstration village for sustainable development launched in Nepal

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song (C) and other guests cut the ribbon during the launch ceremony of the first demonstration village for sustainable development in Nepal in Kathmandu, Nepal on May 29, 2023. [Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua]

KATHMANDU -- The first demonstration village for sustainable development in Nepal, which is supported by a Chinese fund and covers nearly 10,000 people, was formally launched on Monday.

The demonstration village lies in Tarakeshwor Municipality, north of the Kathmandu Valley and is supported by the China Foundation for Rural Development (CFRD).

Photo shows school girls covered under a Smiling Children project during the launch ceremony of the first demonstration village for sustainable development in Nepal in Kathmandu, Nepal on May 29, 2023. [Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua]

The Chinese foundation has launched a drinking water project covering 4,500 households, a Smiling Children project for providing nutritious meals to 16 local schools, a Panda Pack project aiming at improving the basic learning conditions of primary school students, and a vegetable planting training program for 80 young learners, said Chen Hongtao, the CFRD's secretary general.

Chinese Ambassador to Nepal Chen Song called the demonstration village "a new starting point" for China-Nepal cooperation in poverty reduction.

"We are willing to share useful experience and provide assistance to Nepal within our capacity," Chen said on the occasion.

A boy drinks milk under a Smiling Children project after the launch of the first demonstration village for sustainable development in Nepal in Kathmandu, Nepal on May 29, 2023. [Photo by Hari Maharjan/Xinhua]

Krishnahari Maharjan, mayor of Tarakeshwor Municipality, voiced his appreciation of the CFRD's support for the drinking water project.

"Making drinking water available to our people has been our top priority," he said at the launch ceremony.

Recalling China's support to Nepal during the 2015 massive earthquakes and the COVID-19 pandemic, Leela Mani Paudyal, former chief secretary of the government of Nepal and former ambassador to China, urged the municipality to make maximum use of the CFRD's support and become "example setter."