The Chinese government has agreed to undertake the construction of conservation research center for the King Mahendra Trust for Nature Conservation (KMTNC) in Kathmandu Valley, a Chinese official said Thursday.

The cost required for the construction of the research center will be borne by the Chinese government under the grant assistance provided through the agreement on Economic and Technical and Economic Cooperation, signed between the two countries on August 16, 2004, a Chinese official said on condition of anonymity.

Letters of Exchange to this effect were signed and exchanged between the Nepali government and the Chinese government in Kathmandu.

Bhanu Prasad Acharya, secretary of Ministry of Finance of Nepal and Sun Heping, ambassador of China to Nepal, signed letters on behalf of their respective governments.

The Nepali government has expressed its sincere thanks and appreciation to the Chinese government for the assistance and for its continued cooperation in the socio-economic development of Nepal.

(Xinhua News Agency November 17, 2005)