Kathmandu, April 16 -- Officials from Nepal and China are working to sign at least half a dozen agreements during the first visit of President Bidya Devi Bhandari to the northern neighbour beginning April 24.

Bhandari will be leading a Nepali delegation to Beijing in the second international conference on the Belt and Road Initiative, a flagship foreign policy initiative of Chinese President Xi Jinping, which kicks off on April 25.

Bhandari is scheduled to deliver a speech at the conference where she is expected to make a strong pitch for Nepal's full participation in the global infrastructure initiative.

Nepal signed up to China's BRI in 2017, but no substantive progress has been made so far.

The President's visit to Beijing, accordi...