The 6th meeting of Nepal-United Kingdom Consultation Mechanism has concluded on Wednesday at the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London.
In the meeting, the two sides reviewed the overall state of Nepal-UK relationship and discussed the enhancement of the engagements in various areas of mutual interest, according to a statement issued by the Nepali Embassy in London.
Apart from exchanging views on over two centuries-old friendship and cooperation between the two countries, the delegations inquired about the progress made in major aspects of the bilateral relations including development cooperation and prioritises, trade, investment and tourism, education and human resource development, people-to-people linkage, the British Gurkha issues, climate change and sustainable development. It also reviewed the ongoing talks on the Ex-Gurkha issues, and agreed to continue discussion to address their grievances.
The UK side highlighted the changing shape of UK's development cooperation portfolio while sharing the priority area of future cooperation to Nepal including support in transition to middle income country, and progress towards sustainable development goals, support in mobilising investment and climate finance, and in expanding access to education.
On the occasion, the Nepali side appreciated the development cooperation provided by the UK as one of the largest development partners, and stressed the need for continuity and enhancement of such support in the days to come.
It was also agreed upon to work towards further strengthening cooperation and engagements in productive sectors such as trade, investment, energy and tourism while concluding that increasing investment in Nepal's clean energy would not only foster economic growth, but also help address the agenda of climate change.
They also discussed the utilisation of the investment windows such as British International Investment on various areas including renewal energy, information and communication sector, and the possibility of channelising more resources from the British Investments Partnership. The UK appreciated Nepal's contribution to the UN peacekeeping as the second largest troops providing country.
In a separate meeting, Foreign Secretary of Nepal Bharat Raj Paudyal and the Permanent Under-Secretary at FCDO Sir Philip Barton had a discussion on a range of subjects including the marking of the centenary of friendship treaty, exchange of high-levels visits, and bilateral cooperation among others.
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