Kathmandu, November 27

National Information Commission of Nepal and Information Commission of Bangladesh yesterday signed an agreement to implement a Memorandum of Understanding, inked on February 15 between the two commissions in Kathmandu.

The MoU seeks to exchange mutual cooperation regarding promotion of the right to information in respective countries.

Nine months after the MoU was inked, this was the first meet among high-level delegates from the information commission of the two countries. Delegates from both sides, after discussing the best practices, procedures and publication regarding Right to Information signed an action plan to implement the MoU.

Nepal’s Chief Information Commissioner Krishna Hari Baskota said Nepal ranked 27th in the Global RTI rating report launched by Centre for Law and Democracy with 104 scores out of 150 analysing Right to Information law of the country while Bangladesh ranked 24th.

“The RTI law of the two countries is quite similar and will benefit each other to ensure Right to information of the citizen which made the two commissions sign the MoU and today’s action plan,” Baskota said.

As per the agreement, both information commissions have agreed to conduct high level annual review of implementation of RTI and both information commissions will invite each other to RTI related programmes held in these two nations.

“We also signed on the attached mentoring, in which National Information Commission staff of Nepal can visit Bangladesh to learn the working style, standard operation procedures, information management, complaint management system of Bangladesh and vice versa,” Baskota added.