KATHMANDU: Nepal and the Republic of Palau have established diplomatic relations. With this, the number of countries with which Nepal has bilateral diplomatic relations reached 174.

Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations Amrit Bahadur Rai and the Permanent Representative of the Republic of Palau to the United Nations Ilana Victorya Seid signed a joint communiqué to this effect in a brief ceremony held at the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations, New York on Monday.

The two ambassadors also signed a joint letter informing the Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres about the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On the occasion, the two ambassadors exchanged views on various matters of common interest to strengthen bilateral cooperation at national and multilateral settings particularly at UN forums for the mutual benefit of the two countries.

The Republic of Palau is a country situated in the Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines, with an area of 459 square kilometers and population of about 22,000.
It became a sovereign state on 1 October 1994. Before, it was a part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, which was administered by the United States since 1947 following the World War II.

Palau joined the United Nations as the 185th member state on 15 December 1994.