The two sides stressed the importance of high-level visits and interactions to promote agendas of common interest.

KATHMANDU, FEBRUARY 08

A second meeting of Nepal-France Bilateral Consultation Mechanism concluded today virtually, discussing a wide range of issues related to bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, issuing a press release, said the two sides exchanged views on the overall state of bilateral relations between the two countries since the official visit of the prime minister of Nepal to France in June 2019.

The two sides stressed the importance of high-level visits and interactions to promote agendas of common interest.

The meeting was conducted between the Nepali delegation led by Nirmal Raj Kafle, joint secretary for Europe and the Americas at MoFA, and Bertland Lortholary, director for Asia and Oceania at the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, who led the French delegation.

Officials from the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Supply, Ministry of Forest and Environment and Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation from the Nepali side had also joined the meeting.

The meeting discussed ways and means to promote bilateral trade and investment, transfer of technology and tourism for mutual benefit.

They also discussed centuries-old cultural exchange and the ever-increasing people-to-people contacts.

While highlighting efforts at the national and international levels to address the adverse impacts of climate change, the two sides also shared their national experiences and commitment to continuing mutual cooperation in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A version of this article appears in the print on February 9, 2021, of The Himalayan Times.