Photo: Daniel Ortega, President of Nicaragua. By: Fundación de Nicaragua. Source: Wikimedia Commons.
On December 9, 2021, Nicaragua officially acknowledged the government of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Almost a month later, President Daniel Ortega together with his wife and Vice President, Rosario Murillo, and his son, Laureano Ortega Murillo, met with an official delegation from the PRC, led by Cao Jianming, special envoy of President Xi Jinping. Four cooperation agreements were signed between the two nations at the meeting.
The first agreement concerns the New Silk Road with China, a project that was taken up again in 2013 by Xi Jinping. It is an infrastructure network spread across five continents, consisting of a network of roads, railroads, and ports that will improve trade connections between the participating countries. The agreement is called Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua on cooperation within the framework of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The second agreement is the Cooperation Framework between the Chinese government and Nicaragua (general cooperation). The third is the Agreement between the Government of the PRC and the Government of the Republic of Nicaragua on the mutual exemption of visas for holders of diplomatic passports, service passports, and public affairs or official passports. Finally, the fourth agreement signed was the Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Government of the People’s Republic of China and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Nicaragua on the establishment of the political consultation mechanism. For international specialists, the New Silk Road is an attempt to increase China’s geopolitical and strategic influence and also involves the indebtedness of the recipient countries.
Main Story:
La Prensa Nicaragua: Laureano Ortega firma, a nombre del régimen, un acuerdo para integrar a Nicaragua en la “Nueva ruta de la Seda” de China.
Find out more:
El 19 digital: Nicaragua-China: la nueva ruta de la seda en América Central y América Latina.
Hola News: Nicaragua y China firman un acuerdo de consultas políticas.