[caption id="attachment_49883" align="alignnone" width="968"]File Photo File Photo[/caption] Kathmandu, 11 August:  As final preparations for Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka's visit to China were underway on Friday, August the 5th, the Kathmandu-based ambassadors affiliated to the European Union contacted the ministry seeking for time to meet with Minister Khadka jointly. According to an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ambassadors requested to meet Minister Khadka on Monday  but he showed reluctance to meet them. He instructed the officials of the ministry to arrange a time for the meeting only after his visit to China. Accordingly, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed the ambassadors  but it has not been decided whether the European ambassadors will meet Foreign Minister Khadka or not as the ministry has not received any response from them. However, officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs say that geopolitical competition is the main reason why diplomats from Western countries were seeking an urgent meeting before Minister Khadka's visit to China. They are of the view that the European Union ambassadors wanted to meet Foreign Minister Khadka to express their displeasure with his trip to China, especially after the visit of US Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan. According to another Foreign Ministry official, the European countries and the US had informally informed the Nepal government that the time of Foreign Minister Khadka's visit to China was not appropriate. According to the official, they were worried that if Foreign Minister Khadka goes to China while China is conducting military exercises on Taiwan Straits, the message of Nepal's full support towards Beijing will be clear and loud, writes Santosh Ghimire in nepalkhabar.com. The same day, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "Nepal is closely following the evolving situation in the Taiwan Straits. Nepal has always been upholding One China Policy. Both Nepal and China have been respecting each other's sovereignty, territorial integrity, and national independence. As a peace-loving country, Nepal is in favour of continued peace and stability in the region." It may be noted that more than 100 countries have spoken out, reaffirming their firm commitment to the one-China policy and underscoring their understanding and support of China's legitimate position. In the meanwhile, Chinese ambassador to Nepal Hou Yanqi, taking to the twitter has said, "Taiwan belongs to all the Chinese people, including the 23 million Taiwan compatriots. We will tolerate no foreign interference in Taiwan, thwart any attempt to divide our country, and combine as a mighty force for national reunification and rejuvenation." People's News Monitoring Service