British ambassador calls on Minister Kirati

Kathmandu, May 19: Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, Sudan Kirati, and British ambassador to Nepal, Nicola Kathryn Pollitt, held a meeting today. 

The ambassador visited the Minister's office in Singha Durbar to call on him. 

During the meeting, Minister Kirati urged the EU for initiation to remove Nepal from the EU air safety list. Nepali airlines have been banned to fly above the EU bloc by the EU since 2013 expressing its serious concerns over Nepal's air safety standards.

The EU's blacklist against Nepali airlines followed the serious concerns raised by the ICAO over their 'weak' safety measures. Though the ICAO removed Nepal from its blacklist in July 2017, the EU is yet to do this.

In the ICAO latest safety audit, Nepal scores 70.1 percent first time which is significant in its aviation history. The score is above the global average score 67 percent and the Asia Pacific rate 63 percent. 

The meeting between the Minister and ambassador is viewed significantly when the national flag-carrier Nepal Airlines Corporation has proceeded towards the operation of a direct flight to Sydney. The NAC had history of operating its direct flight to London in the past. 

Likewise, the two touched on the issues of ex-British Gurkha and discussed ways for addressing the issues permanently.(RSS)