The Nepal government is all set to provide free visas to Chinese tourists in an attempt to lure tourists back to the Himalayan nation. China was one of the few countries that issued warnings to its citizens to stay away from Nepal following two deadly earthquakes that claimed 9,000 lives in April 2015, according to The Mint. Eight months after the earthquake, Nepal on Friday issued a green signal for its National Reconstruction Agency to begin work, and also appointed a chief, reported Reuters. After India, China is the second-largest source of tourists to the Himalayan country. On Friday, the Nepalese and Chinese foreign ministers met and held talks in Beijing. China lifted its warning after the talks.”This will help increase the number of Chinese tourists and boost economy,” Mint quoted Shredhan Rai,
Nepal’s IT minister, as saying. Nepal had also recently asked for China’s help to beat the acute fuel shortage after Madhesi protestors blocked India’s border crossing points, according to Reuters. Tourism accounts for 4% of Nepal’s economy, Mint reportedAccording to statistics, Nepal, house of Mount Everest, received 8 lakh tourists annually. Of these, 1.35 lakh were from India and 1.23 lakh from China.Citizens from India, Pakistan, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Bangladesh and Nepal together constitute the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC). Nationals of these countries do not require a visa to visit Nepal.
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