Nepal’s former prime minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, extended Spring Festival greetings to the Chinese people Thursday.

“On the auspicious occasion of the Chinese New Year beginning Feb 16, I would like to extend warm greetings to all friends in the People’s Republic of China and all around the world who are celebrating the New Year as Year of the Dog,” he said.

This year’s Spring Festival, or Chinese Lunar New Year, falls on Friday.

“I trust that the Year of the Dog will further consolidate collective well-being and accelerate the inclusive and efficient development process of China which has been the engine of growth and prosperity for the world,” he said, adding harmony, dialogue, understanding and trust are the important notions Chinese cultural tradition has embraced over centuries.

While coinciding with the Chinese New Year, Nepali people living in mountainous and hilly region, notably the Sherpa community, are also celebrating Gyalpo Lhosar as the New Year, the Nepali former prime minister said.

He said the two countries will embrace and deepen a mutually beneficial relationship in 2018. “I believe the long-standing relations between Nepal and the People’s Republic of China, characterized by ever deepening people-level relations, will be further strengthened in the Year of the Dog with continued trust and understanding.”

Nepal and China signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the Belt and Road Initiative on May 2017 in Kathmandu. The initiative comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and aims to build trade and infrastructure networks connecting Asia with Europe and Africa on and beyond the ancient Silk Road routes.