KATHMANDU, Sept 30: Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal has requested the Canadian government to establish a residential embassy of Canada in Nepal.
During his meeting with Assistant Deputy Minister of Global Affairs, Canada Paul Thoppil, Foreign Secretary Paudyal asked her to consider establishing Canadian representation in Nepal, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
In the third meeting of Nepal-Canada Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) held in Ottawa on Thursday, Foreign Secretary Paudyal requested Canadian side to make arrangements for the issuance of visas in Kathmandu in view of growing size of Nepali diaspora in Canada and increasing people to people contacts between the two countries. Currently, Nepali nationals wishing to travel to Canada need to submit visa applications to the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi, India.
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Foreign Secretary Paudyal shared with the Canadian side about Nepal’s development priorities, graduation from the LDC category and the efforts made towards meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals. He underscored the need for an enhanced level of cooperation from Canada in terms of resources and technology for Nepal’s smooth and sustainable transition from the LDC status.
The Canadian side expressed its readiness to support Nepal in its development pursuits and highlighted its feminist international assistance policy. Citing the contribution made by Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia II (CFPS II) in the financing of Upper Trishuli-1 Hydropower project, Paudyal called for more investment and technology from Canada in Nepal’s hydropower, a vital source of clean energy.
The two sides also reviewed the progress made since the second meeting of the BCM held in December 2020. They agreed to work closely towards further deepening and widening cooperation and engagements in identified sectors for mutual benefit. The importance of the exchange of high level visits was emphasized as a means of providing momentum to these engagements, according to a press statement issued by the MoFA.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed a range of matters of bilateral interest that included development cooperation, trade and investment, education, culture and tourism as well as environment and climate change, among others.
