Lhasa Friendship Association Donates Aid Supplies to Kathmandu, Strengthening 14 Years of City Ties
Via APD News
The Lhasa People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, based in the Xizang Autonomous Region of China, has extended a new round of assistance to Nepal, donating aid materials to the Nepal-China Sister-City Friendship Association. The support marks yet another chapter in the long-standing partnership between the sister cities of Lhasa and Kathmandu.
The donation ceremony took place in Kathmandu on Wednesday evening, where Liu Fuping, President of the Lhasa People’s Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries and Director of the Lhasa Municipal Foreign Affairs Office, handed over the aid supplies to Dipak Sarkar, President of the Nepal-China Sister-City Friendship Association. Representatives from both sides were present during the formal exchange, which also included the signing of a donation certificate.
Liu highlighted the deepening cooperation between Lhasa and Kathmandu over the years, noting that the two cities have carried out fruitful exchanges in multiple sectors, including urban development, culture, and disaster relief. “Over the past 14 years, Lhasa has extended assistance to Kathmandu ten times, providing solar equipment, construction materials, and medical supplies worth over 10 million yuan. Particularly during the 2015 Nepal earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic, the two cities stood firmly by each other,” Liu stated.
The aid supplies in the latest donation include computers, generators, and table tennis equipment, among other materials. These items will be distributed to local communities in Kathmandu as part of ongoing efforts to support development and cultural engagement.
Receiving the donation, Dipak Sarkar expressed gratitude to the Lhasa Friendship Association for its continued goodwill and practical support. He noted that such gestures reinforce the spirit of mutual respect and people-to-people ties that have long characterized Nepal-China relations. Sarkar further emphasized the importance of expanding cooperation in the areas of trade, culture, and tourism, recalling that Kathmandu and Lhasa share more than 1,300 years of historic exchanges.
Lhasa and Kathmandu officially became sister cities in 2011, leading to regular exchange visits, participation in trade fairs, and cultural programs aimed at deepening cross-border ties. Lhasa also holds a unique distinction as the first Chinese city to establish direct air connectivity with Nepal. Currently, Himalaya Airlines, a Nepal-China joint venture, operates direct flights from both Kathmandu and Pokhara to Lhasa.
Diplomatic ties between the two nations stretch back decades. Nepal opened its Consulate General in Lhasa in 1956, shortly after the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1955. Today, the Nepali community remains the largest foreign population in Lhasa, with many families settled there for generations, proudly referring to the Tibetan capital as their “second hometown.”
The renewed gesture of aid underscores not only the enduring friendship between the two Himalayan neighbors but also the shared vision of closer cultural and economic cooperation in the years ahead.
