KATHMANDU, AUGUST 30
The second Bilateral Consultation Mechanism between the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the Government of Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was held in Canberra, Australia, today.
During the BCM, DFAT Secretary Jan Adams AO PSM, and Secretary of the Water and Energy Commission Secretariat Dinesh Kumar Ghimire signed a five-year Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Water Resource Management.
Under the MoU, Australia will provide training, technical assistance and share internationally recognised expertise on water governance.
This will complement Australia's existing partnership with the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development to strengthen transboundary river basin management, localise climate action and promote green livelihoods, aligned to the Government of Nepal's transition to Green, Resilient and inclusive Development for sustainable recovery, growth and jobs.
The BCM was co-chaired by DFAT's Deputy Secretary of Geostrategic Group Justin Hayhurst and Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of Nepal.
DFAT's Deputy Secretary Hayhurst opened the second meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism and thanked Secretary Paudyal and the Nepal delegation for travelling to Australia.
In his opening remarks Deputy Secretary Hayhurst welcomed Australia and Nepal's strong people-to-people links with over 120,000 Nepalis calling Australia home. He congratulated Nepal on its recent democratic local elections and reiterated the two countries' strong commitment to democracy, domestically and internationally.
"Australia supports a free, open and resilient Indo-Pacific and the international rules-based order," he said and welcomed Nepal's strategic outlook.
According to a press release issued by the Embassy of Australia in Nepal, both sides noted mutual climate change and energy challenges and the importance of achieving net-zero emissions.
In addition to talks on Nepal's development priorities and future cooperation agenda, Australia undertook to share its expertise in forest fire management, and search and rescue initiatives through a new package of development support.
The Bilateral Consultation Mechanism was established in 2017 between the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Government of Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The previous BCM was held in August 2018 in Kathmandu.
A version of this article appears in the print on August 31, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
