KATHMANDU: Speaker Dol Prasad (DP) Aryal has met his Australian counterpart, Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives Milton Dick.
Aryal, who is in Tanzania, to attend the 153rd General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), met Dick on Tuesday and discussed various issues, including Nepal-Australia relations and parliamentary cooperation, according to Aryal’s secretariat.
During the meeting, Aryal said that relations between Nepal and Australia, established in 1960, have been continuously strengthened on the basis of friendship, mutual respect and shared democratic values.
He expressed gratitude to the Australian government for providing humanitarian assistance following the floods in the Bhotekoshi region and supporting search and rescue operations. He also expressed condolences to the families of Australian citizens who went missing in the floods and praised Australia’s solidarity with Nepal during the disaster.
Aryal said Nepal and other Himalayan countries are being seriously affected by climate change and expressed hope that Australia would continue to provide support and solidarity in international discussions and initiatives on climate change.
He said the formation of the Nepal-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group has provided an important foundation for further strengthening parliamentary relations between the two countries.
Aryal said bilateral relations could be further strengthened through regular interactions, exchanges of experiences and parliamentary diplomacy between lawmakers.
According to Aryal’s secretariat, Dick expressed Australia’s willingness to further strengthen parliamentary and bilateral relations with Nepal.
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