Gyawali holds meeting with Portuguese minister

Kathmandu, July 26

Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali had a bilateral meeting with Minister for Foreign Affairs of Portugal, Augusto Santos Silva, at the latter’s office yesterday.

During the meeting, the overall state of bilateral relations between Nepal and Portugal was discussed,  said a press release issued the Embassy of Nepal in France.

The two ministers exchanged views on promoting bilateral cooperation in the areas including trade, investment, technology transfer and people-to-people relations.

According to the release, matters related to Nepali Diaspora in Portugal as well as the possibilities of enhancing cooperation in language and culture also featured in the discussion.

The two ministers also deliberated on ways and means to strengthen cooperation at multilateral forums including at the United Nations.

Also present in the meeting were Nepali Ambassador to Portugal Ambika Devi Luintel, Joint Secretary at the foreign ministry Ghanashyam Bhandari, Personal Under-Secretary of foreign minister Janga Bahadur Nepali, Nepal’s Honorary Consul in Lisbon Makar Bahadur Hamal, Director General for External Policy Pedro Costa Pereira, Director-General for Consular Affairs and Portuguese Communities Julio Vilela and other officials of the Portuguese foreign ministry.

Following the meeting, a memorandum of understanding on the establishment of bilateral consultation mechanism between the foreign ministries of Nepal and Portugal was also signed.

Ambassador Luintel and Director General for External Policy of Foreign Ministry of Portugal Pedro Costa Pereira signed the MoU on behalf of their respective ministries, stated the release.

Nepal-Belgium relations discussed

KATHMANDU: Minister of Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali held a bilateral meeting with Didier Reynders, deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs of Belgium at the latter’s office on Thursday. On the occasion, they discussed Nepal-Belgium relations and stressed the need to make Nepal-Belgium Bilateral Consultation Mechanism an effective instrument for strengthening the bilateral relations. Minister Gyawali attached high emphasis to economic engagement between the two countries. He had arrived in Brussels from Lisbon on Wednesday, stated a press release issued by Embassy of Nepal in Belgium.