During the past 10 years, Chinese non-governmental organizations have worked with their counterparts in Nepal to help the South Asian neighbor’s healthcare and education system, and will usher in the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between the two countries in 2015.

A recent visit by Chinese NGOs brought a group of doctors and volunteers to the country, working in the Himalayas to give thousands of Nepalese people free health checkups and medicine, in addition to rice and other food.

Last week, the China NGO Network for International Exchanges held a forum in the capital of Kathmandu to promote the exchanges and in-depth cooperation among NGOs from both countries. Experts in healthcare, tourism and education gave suggestions on Nepal’s development and exchanges with China. Chinese hydropower enterprises looked forward to future cooperation on electricity generation for Nepal, which has experienced frequent blackouts in Kathmandu.

Nepal, a mountainous country defined by the United Nations as one of the least-developed nations in the world, urgently needs to upgrade its medical care and education system. Currently more than 1,000 Chinese volunteers are helping Nepal in those areas.

Arniko Society, a group of more than 400 Nepalese doctors who returned to their home country after years of study in China, cooperated with the China NGO Network for International Exchanges to offer 2,500 Nepalese free checkups and treatments, said Sarbottam Shrestha, the society’s president.

The Manmohan Memorial Community Hospital in suburban Kathmandu offers services to around 20,000 residents in nearby villages but only has four doctors. On Thursday, the morning sunlight shone over tanned faces of the local people when a group of Chinese doctors organized by the NGO arrived.

The China NGO Network for International Exchanges also distributed 5 metric tons of rice at the Chinese Buddhist Monastery in Lumbini, one of the places where Buddha was believed to have been born. Local women lined up to claim the rice and carried the bags home on their heads.

You Jianhua, general-secretary of the China NGO Network for International Exchanges, said he hoped to build a better relationship with the Nepalese people through donations and aid.

Parmanand Jha, vice-president of Nepal, also met the NGO delegation. He said that in the past 10 years, Nepal has seen a surge of NGO interactions. Partly thanks to the aid from China, people’s livelihoods have improved, he said in an interview with China Daily.

“NGOs should supplement the things that our governmental officials cannot do, especially in those far-flung areas that have no access to high-quality transportation,” Jha said.