Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala will attend the MoU signing programme (possibly on Dec. 27) as a witness at the Tsinghua University.

An institute to be formed after the MoU will be called the Institute of Himalayan Studies and will work on Nepal-China bilateral relations.

The institute will be the first of its kind outside the country, which specifically focuses on Nepal's bilateral relations with a particular country, a MoFA official said.

Tsinghua University has organised various programmes on Nepal in the past. It is considered one of the three finest universities in China where four Nepali students are currently enrolled and are pursuing different courses.

Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal visited the university and delivered a speech as part of the Tsinghua Global Vision Lectures Series on Dec. 30, 2009.