KATHMANDU: Ambassador of Nepal to Bangladesh, Ghanshyam Bhandari, paid a courtesy call on the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh Dr Hasan Mahmud at the latter’s office on Sunday.

On the occasion, Ambassador Bhandari congratulated Dr Mahmud on his appointment and handed over the congratulatory message addressed to him by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal, NP Saud.

Referring also to the congratulatory letter sent on 8 January 2024 by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on the latter’s re-election, Ambassador Bhandari conveyed the commitment of the Government of Nepal to continue working together with the leadership of Bangladesh for the mutual benefit of the two countries and peoples.

During the meeting, views were exchanged on ways to further strengthen Nepal-Bangladesh relations with economic cooperation at the centre.

Foreign Minister Dr Mahmud recalled his ‘official visits’ to Nepal and expressed satisfaction over the state of excellent bilateral relations between the two countries.

He further highlighted the need to utilize the potential existing in the fields of trade, tourism, energy, climate change, and people-to-people contacts.

“We must work together and expedite the negotiations to realize power trade between our countries at the earliest,” he said.

Ambassador Bhandari shared with the Bangladeshi Foreign Minister the progress made under different bilateral mechanisms including the Foreign Office Consultations, Joint Steering Committee on Energy, and Commerce Secretary-Level Meeting, among others.

He shed light on the increasing momentum of bilateral engagements and underlined the importance of making concrete advances in sectors such as trade, energy, connectivity, education, and tourism.