On 24 February 2020, in Geneva, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Edgars Rinkēvičs, met with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nepal, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, for a discussion of political and economic relations between the countries, cooperation in international organisations and relations between the European Union and Nepal.
Latvia highly values friendly and pragmatic relations between our countries and we are interested in developing them bilaterally, at the EU level and in multilateral formats, such as the United Nations, said Edgars Rinkēvičs.
Minister Rinkēvičs expressed interest in finding mutually advantageous opportunities for Latvian and Nepalese exporters and importers, especially in the rapidly growing information and communication technology sector. The Minister also noted that Latvia was interested in enhancing the bilateral legal framework, including by signing an agreement in the sector of air traffic services.
Latvia, being an EU Member State, is interested in a regular dialogue between the EU and Nepal. We appreciate the cooperation format of the EU-Nepal Joint Commission and its recent decision of holding meetings on an annual basis, said Edgars Rinkēvičs. He expressed his pleasure at having the opportunity to discuss a broad range of topics in Katmandu last year, with the focus on political partnership and development cooperation, as well as global and regional engagement in matters such as climate change, human rights, connectivity and multilateralism.
Cooperation at the EU level also opens broader opportunities for advancing connectivity between Europe and Asia based on the EU Strategy on Connecting Europe and Asia, Edgars Rinkēvičs underlined.
The Minister also expressed satisfaction with the activities of the Honorary Consul of Latvia in Nepal, Karan Vaidya, which promote business and cultural contacts between the two countries.
Diplomatic relations between Latvia and Nepal were established on 20 April 1992.