KATHMANDU: Germany has pledged an additional 4 million Euro for technical cooperation to further upgrade the use of solar energy in order to tackle the challenges of Climate change and energy security in Nepal.

According to the German Embassy in Kathmandu, Nepal and Germany have also welcomed the imminent conclusion of an agreement that will allow diplomats’ spouses to take on gainful employment in the host country while the family is posted there.

The pledge was made during the visit of Markus Potzel, Commissioner for South Asia in the German Federal Foreign Office, who was on a two-day visit to Nepal from 16 to 17 July. During his stay here, he called on Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, Minister for Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Bhanu Bhakta Dhakal, and Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Baskota.

This visit aims at upgrading political relations between Germany and Nepal, based on the long-standing bilateral friendship and cooperation that has lasted for more than 60 years, the German Embassy said.

Likewise, Nepal and Germany also welcomed the good prospects for upcoming cooperation between the University of Hamburg (Germany), and two institutions in Nepal on the preservation of the oldest surviving Sanskrit Manuscripts worldwide.

According to the statement, Nepal and Germany stressed the need for intensifying trade and foreign direct investment linkages while welcoming efforts to promote the German private sector’s interest in investments in Nepal.

The German side welcomed efforts to foster an open investment climate in Nepal and pledged support in ongoing reform measures. Both sides underlined the need to speed up Government decisions on concrete economic engagements and contracts.

Likewise, Germany has pledged support to promote tourism, in the context of the Visit Nepal 2020 tourism campaign, but also in the longer term.