KATHMANDU, NOVEMBER 10
The fifth meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism between Nepal and the Republic of Korea was held in Kathmandu yesterday.
Joint-secretary of the North East Asia Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Lok Bahadur Thapa and Director General, South Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea Sangryol Lee led their respective delegations to the meeting. They took stock of the overall state of Nepal-Korea relations and stressed the importance of exchange of high-level visits and engagements to further promote friendly ties between the two countries.
The two sides discussed and exchanged views on further promoting cooperation in the areas of COV- ID-19 response and recovery, trade, investment, employment, energy, technology, education, tourism, culture, and people-to-people relations, among others. While underscoring the contribution of Nepali workers in Korea to the economies of both countries, the two sides agreed on the need to renew the Memorandum of Understanding on the Employment Permit System at the earliest.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Nepali side has requested the Korean side to increase the number of quotas to Nepal under EPS and make arrangement to receive Nepali workers who pass EPS tests as early as possible. During consultations, the two sides also discussed possible cooperation in mutually beneficial areas at the regional and multilateral level, including UN and SAARC.
A version of this article appears in the print on November 11, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.
