PM Oli’s Europe visit , more tourists expected from UK France , Switzerland
Travel Biz News —-
Kathmandu: Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli urged the business people of Switzerland, United Kingdom and France to invest in tourism and other economic sectors of Nepal.
PM Oli appealed the concerned people to work together for strengthening bilateral economic cooperation during his visit to three European countries on June 8-16.
During his eight-day Europe visit, he participated in centenary event of International Labour Organisation (ILO) in Geneva of Switzerland.
He visited CERN (Counseil Europeen Pour la Recherche Nucleaire), a European Centre for Nuclear Research and world-renowned High-Energy Particle Physics Laboratory in Geneva , according to MOFA release.
The Prime Minister addressed a tourism promotion program organized in the French City of Chamonix-Mont Blanc, as part of the celebration of the 70th Anniversary of Nepal-France diplomatic relations.
PM Oli drew comparisons to the relations between France and Nepal with the heights of Mont Blanc, the highest peak of the Europe and the Mount Everest, the highest peak in the world.
Similarly, the Prime Minister had a cordial meeting with British counterpart Theresa May and Prince Harry in London. He met his French counterpart Édouard Philippe during his France visit.
“Our Himalayas and forests contribute to the recharging system of the earth and also keep the environment clean and cool. This is an extraordinary contribution. This must be recognized and climate justice should be upheld as an essential component of comprehensive democracy at the global level,” he said addressing a program at Oxford Union in UK.
While expressing deep concerns over the impacts of climate change to the mountain ecology, he stated that Nepal will host the first Sagarmatha Dialogue under the theme of Climate Change within this year.
He proposed to replace the tripartite Gorkha Recruitment Treaty of 1947 by bilateral treaty during his meeting with Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Theresa May in London.
He said that the government would create the atmosphere to help Nepali aircraft fly in the European sky. “I have talked with the European leaders to open the European sky to Nepali aircraft and the efforts will continue further,” he said while talking to journalists upon his arrival in Kathmandu after completing week-long Europe visit on June 16.
PM Oli instructed the Ambassadors stationed in Berlin, Moscow, London, Vienna, Brussels, Copenhagen, Geneva, Paris and Madrid to streamline their actions towards contributing to the agenda of ‘prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali.
According to Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradip Kumar Gyawali , the visit of the Prime Minister in Europe was able to strengthen the long ties with the UK and France.
‘It was the official visit of Prime Minister to the UK after 17 years and to France after 18 years. UK is the first and France is the fourth country to establish friendly relations with Nepal.’
Travel professionals opine that these visits would contribute to strengthen economic cooperation and attract more tourists from Switzerland, UK and France.
Joint UK-Nepal communique on the occasion of the visit of the Prime Minister of Nepal to the United Kingdom, 10-12th June 2019
On the occasion of the visit to the United Kingdom of the Prime Minister of Nepal, Rt. Hon. K P Sharma Oli, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, Rt. Hon. Mr. Jeremy Hunt MP, and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal, Hon. Mr. Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, agreed the following communiqué.
The United Kingdom and Nepal are long-time partners that have enjoyed diplomatic relations for over 200 years, by far the longest formal relationship Nepal has with any country. Today the relationship is broad, vibrant and diverse. This year we have witnessed progress against our shared objectives, and we commit to continued dialogue on issues of mutual interest.
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) of the United Kingdom and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Nepal acknowledged the long and distinguished service of Gurkhas in the British Army. The two sides recognised Gurkhas as a vital link in strengthening the bilateral relationship. Going forward, both sides agreed to continue discussion on Gurkha matters.
Both sides discussed the shared objective to strengthen the trade and investment relationship between Britain and Nepal, in line with Nepal’s “Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali” agenda. The FCO and MFA agreed on the important contribution the UK makes to supporting Nepal’s economic development as the country’s largest bilateral donor. Looking ahead, Nepal agreed to seek to improve still further the environment for inward investment and the UK will provide support to encourage potential investors to invest in Nepal. To help deliver this, both sides noted the progress made in negotiations on a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement, and agreed the aim of it entering into force by 2020. Going forward, the UK welcomed Nepal’s desire to obtain a sovereign rating working with UK financial institutions.
Both sides acknowledged Nepal’s efforts to graduate from least developed country status at an early date and achieve the sustainable development goals by 2030. The FCO agreed to a strong development partnership that continued to support Nepal’s development efforts under the new polity. The MFA on behalf of the Government of Nepal appreciated DFID’s work to help the Nepali people including after the 2015 earthquakes through the National Reconstruction Authority. Going forward, both governments recognised each other’s strong leadership on climate change issues and agreed to work together, both bilaterally and multilaterally, to tackle this challenge.
The FCO and MFA agreed on the importance of supporting the international rules-based system and multilateralism. They reiterated the commitment of their governments to protecting and promoting human rights in line with international norms and standards, noting both countries were on the UN Human Rights Council. Looking ahead, both sides agreed to focus on tackling human trafficking. Nepal acknowledged the British Prime Minister’s leadership of, and commitment to, this agenda. The FCO welcomed Nepal’s ambition to ratify the Palermo Protocol in 2019 and the two sides agreed they will work together on this issue, including through DFID’s work in Nepal. Both sides expressed their commitment to freedom of expression and media freedom in line with their laws and regulations. The UK side informed that UK and Canada would host Media Freedom conference in London in July 2019 and requested for Nepal’s participation.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to building on our strong and enduring partnership. They welcomed efforts to bring Nepali and British young people closer together, welcoming the work of the British Council, which they were pleased was celebrating its 60th anniversary in Nepal. They agreed that other educational initiatives, including the work by UK universities offering degrees in Nepal, the Chevening Scholarship Programme and the British Government’s Girls Education projects in Nepal, would support Nepal’s development. The UK welcomed Nepal’s official recognition of UK A-Level qualifications.
The FCO and the MFA celebrated the strong people-to-people ties between the two countries. They welcomed the Nepal government’s work to strengthen its economy by attracting more tourists, including through their VisitNepal2020 Campaign. The FCO also extended its support to make this campaign a success. They were pleased to note the number of visitors to Nepal from the UK had risen to over 60,000. Both sides welcomed the many contributions of the Nepali diaspora to public life in Britain. Both sides appreciated the work of hundreds of civil society organisations and individuals who help keep the relationship between Britain and Nepal vibrant.
The two sides agreed to build on the broad and robust foundation of our past, for an even stronger relationship to tackle the issues that matter to us both in the future.
Image : French Prime Minister welcoming his Nepali counterpart in Paris / MOFA Nepal
June 16, 2019
