KATHMANDU: Nepal has established diplomatic relations with Benin — a French-speaking West African nation — increasing the number of countries with which Nepal has diplomatic relations to 157.

During a signing ceremony organised at the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the UN in New York on Wednesday, Durga Prasad Bhattarai, Permanent Representative of Nepal to the UN, and his counterpart from Benin, Mr Jean-Claude F do Rego, signed on a joint document affirming the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, mission presser stated.

In the ceremony, the ambassadors of both countries expressed the commitment to expanding the mutual relations as well as collaborating in the United Nations and other multilateral forums.