KATHMANDU: Nepal and Saint Kitts and Nevis have established formal diplomatic relations amid a brief ceremony in New York on Wednesday. The number of countries with which Nepal has established diplomatic ties now has reached 159. Issuing a press statement on May 30, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, Ambassador Durga Prasad Bhattarai, Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations and Ambassador Sam Terence Condor, Permanent Representatives of Saint Kitts and Nevis to the United Nations signed an instrument to this effect at a brief ceremony in New York. The diplomatic mission in Kathmandu further said, the two ambassadors underscored the importance of continuing cooperation at multilateral levels as well as opening avenues for bilateral cooperation in areas of common interest, such as climate change and natural disasters as well as tourism cooperation. 'They also resolved to continue working together at the United Nations in pursuit of peace, development and common prosperity ahead,' reads the statement. On the occasion, two ambassadors also jointly informed Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, about the establishment of Nepal-Saint Kitts and Nevis bilateral relations. Both Nepal and Saint Kitts and Nevis are members of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77. Saint Kitts and Nevis is a member of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM).