A new era of connectivity has dawned in Nepal with its partnership with China to improve the nation’s ICT connectivity network. It was announced that Nepal Telecom and China Telecom Global worked together to lay optical fiber cables between Kerung in China and Rasuwagadi in Nepal connected through the hub at Sudhara in Kathmandu. The new fiber optic cable also provides an alternative in case of natural disasters such as the devastating earthquake in 2015. This project also considers the possibilities for increased bandwidth in the future.

The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) was initially introduced in 2013 in order to enhance connectivity and collaboration among 60 countries and beyond in Asia, Africa and Europe. According to BRI, the Belt refers to Silk Road Economic Belt which is the land routes among these countries, whereas the Road refers to the 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road which is the sea routes, rather than roads, aimed at marine transportation and communications from China’s east coast to other countries across the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.