Asia

Fostering International Relations between Japan & Nepal

Foreign ministers meeting to promote collaboration and people-to-people exchange

February 12th, 2019
Alessandra Angeloni, News from Berlin
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On January 9th the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Taro Kono, met with the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, Mr. Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.

Kono is the first Foreign Minister of Japan who visited Nepal since 2012. The Japanese Minister stated that Nepal is an important country for Japan in terms of international stability. Indeed, the main objective of the session was to consolidate the relationship between the two nations by fostering their economic cooperation in a variety of sectors, including culture and tourism.

During the session the two ministers had an open conversation and agreed on signing the Memorandum of Cooperation on conducting bilateral consultations. Concerning global challenges part of the discussion focused on sharing the two ministers’ views on the sustainable development goals (SFGs) and United national security council (UNSC) reforms.

In an interview after the meeting Taro Kono, at the question “In the future, what are the sectors you think have the potential for broader development in Japan- Nepal relations?” The minister expressed his marked interest in fostering the people-to-people exchange between Japan and Nepal which will further increase thanks to the accordance on the Air Services Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of the Kingdom of Nepal (the Japan-Nepal Air Services Agreement),

Besides political relations, Taro Kono mentioned also the willingness to increase collaboration between the two countries in the tourism and cultural sector. The minister is confident on the positive outcomes coming from the operation of direct flight between the two countries.

References

News from Berlin