Asia

Nepal and Germany Sign Joint Declaration to Hold Political Consultations Annually

The Two Ministries have signed a joint declaration of intent on the Establishment of Bilateral Consultation Mechanism

July 30th, 2019
Christina Vassell, News from Berlin
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On 16th July 2019 Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Ghanashyam Bhandari and visiting Commissioner for South Asia at German Federal Foreign Office, Markus Potzel signed the document on behalf of their respective governments as the first joint political consultations were held between the two Foreign Ministries in Kathmandu.

The German delegation was in Nepal was in Nepal to hold the first Bilateral Consultation Meeting between Nepal and Germany between 16th and 17th July, 2019. Hon. Mr. Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Minister for Foreign Affairs received the German delegation led by Mr. Markus Potzel, Commissioner for South Asia, Federal Office (FFO) of Germany, at his office in Singh Durbar, Kathmandu.

H.E. Amb. Roland Schäfer for Germany to Nepal said that the visit is first of its kind and highly important to strengthen the bilateral relations between the two countries. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1958, Germany has supported Nepal’s development. Even during times of political conflict and military turmoil, Germany has supported Nepal’s independent foreign policy aimed at ensuring regional balance to which Germany is committed to supporting the improvement of the population’s living conditions and ensuring human rights.

Topics that surfaced in the initial meeting between the two ministries ranged from bilateral and regional political and economic issues. The two sides also discussed the prospects for an upcoming cooperation between the University of Hamburg (Germany), and two institutions in Nepal on the preservation of the oldest surviving Sanskrit Manuscripts worldwide. Germany has also pledged support to the Visit Nepal 2020 tourism campaign, and plans to promote tourism between the two nations in the longer term.

During his visit, Mr. Potzel also met with Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali; Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal; Minister for Communication and Information Technology, Gokul Prasad Baskota as well as representatives of the private sector and human rights defenders.

The visit ended in both ministries signing a joint declaration of intent on the Establishment of Bilateral Consultation Mechanism, in which both Nepal and Germany have mutually agreed to annually hold joint political consultations between the two foreign ministries.

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News from Berlin