KATHMANDU, July 11 (Xinhua) -- Nepal Smiling Children Project funded by the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund of China was launched in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu on Monday, with 3,600 Nepali students expected to benefit from it.

Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee who is on a four-day visit to Nepal, attended the launch ceremony held at a public high school along with Nepal's Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal and ward chiefs.

Addressing the ceremony, Liu noted that the project is among the first carried out by the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund around the world and China has been encouraging and supporting non-governmental organizations from both countries in enhancing exchanges and cooperation to bring out tangible benefits to the two peoples.

Bhusal spoke of different kinds of assistance offered to Nepal by its northern neighbor, saying "Chinese economic and technical assistance has made a huge contribution to the development of Nepal's physical infrastructure, health, education, water resources and sports."

"Nepal needs China's assistance for the development of the country," she stressed. "China's experiences, technology and economy could help Nepal to move toward the direction of prosperity."

The two then distributed meals to some pupils and visited their dining room.

Nepal Smiling Children Project funded by the Global Development and South-South Cooperation Fund is jointly hosted by China Foundation for Rural Development (CFRD), formerly known as China Foundation for Poverty Alleviation, and China NGO Network for International Exchanges.

The project was initiated in 2015 with a view to providing meals or food to starving children in some developing countries, and had expanded to Ethiopia, Sudan, Nepal, Myanmar and Pakistan by the end of 2021, benefiting more than 91,000 children.

Nepal Smiling Children Project launched in May 2020 now covers 3,600 students in the country's Kathmandu, Dolakha, Mahottari and Saptari districts, according to Zou Zhiqiang, country director of Nepal Office of the CFRD.