KATHMANDU, AUGUST 9

Pakistan Ambassador to Nepal Abrar H Hashmi has said the president, vice-president, National Assembly chairman, finance minister and foreign minister and even the Cabinet is seeking the resumption of direct flights from Nepal to Pakistan.

'In my high level meetings with the president of Nepal, vice-president, NA chairman and various ministers, all have put forth the agenda of direct flights from Nepal to Pakistan,' Ambassador Hashmi said.

He further said the National Assembly chairman would be visiting Pakistan very soon, adding, 'The dates have not been finalised yet but the chairman will be visiting Pakistan very soon.'

According to him, this would bring the two countries closer and boost trade and tourism. 'Both countries want to export and import various goods, which are necessary for each other. For example, tea and cardamom are potential goods for this purpose.'

Similarly, direct flights will also promote easy access to the students looking for higher studies. Meanwhile, students have been using the Delhi route to get to Pakistan.

'A huge number of students are studying in Pakistan in various fields. Many students travel to Pakistan via Delhi for study purposes,' Ambassador Hashmi said. He also shared his opinion regarding the issues of trade and climate change. 'Nepal can learn from Pakistan's Green Initiative. Since our ecology is vulnerable, we need to work on economic resilience and many more areas. Disaster preparedness is also one sector where Nepal and Pakistan can work on. ICIMOD headquarters here can be another place to collaborate for us,' he said.

He further said, 'Nepal is participating in COP28 which is happening shortly. Nepal can highlight environmental vulnerability and its role in mitigating the challenges as Nepal contributes very less to greenhouse gas emission. We should work on carbon resilient economy, infrastructure development, among others.'

'Pakistan can also welcome Hindu and Buddhist pilgrims. There are plenty of grounds for collaboration. We can also work on human resources development,' he said, adding, 'Nepal has proposed to import rice from Pakistan. However, as we all know that Pakistan was hit by flood, we are working on it.'

A version of this article appears in the print on August 10, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.