Voters in China's southwestern neighbor Nepal, which has cycled through 10 leaders in the last 11 years, are choosing new national and provincial assemblies. One of the prominent politicians, Krishna Bahadur Mahara left his position as the nation's top diplomat earlier this month to compete in his constituency for parliament.

Mahara visited Beijing this September as deputy prime minister and foreign minister, meeting with Premier Li Keqiang and Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Among the topics they discussed was the Belt and Road Initiative.

While Mahara is in office, his country has been one of the close partners for the Beijing-proposed initiative. In May, Nepal and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on bilateral cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. Many believe that the deal will boost development of infrastructure and connectivity projects in the Himalayan country.

Mahara now serves as a minister without a portfolio in the current Nepali government. CGTN anchor Pan Deng earlier caught up with him in Kathmandu, in his last days as Nepal's deputy PM and chief diplomat. Mahara has witnessed the development of cooperation between China and Nepal in 2017, and he shared with CGTN his thoughts on the political trust between the two neighbors and the importance of the Belt and Road Initiative for his country.

Mahara noted the Belt and Road Initiative proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping is great for economic growth in the world.

"Mostly, I want to connect with China in transport, especially rail," Mahara said, emphasizing the initiative's contribution to transport and trade field.

He also said that Nepal takes measures to protect Chinese investment in Nepal.

Talking about people's concern if the coming election would change Nepal's attitude towards the Belt and Road Initiative, Mahara firmly assured there will be no changes in policy on that matter.

He believed the new government will continuously support the program regardless of the election's outcome.