Japanese Prime Minister calls on President Paudel

Kathmandu, Feb 3: President Ramchandra Paudel has said that closer and deeper friendship has forged between Nepal and Japan since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. 

President Paudel expressed this view during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Ms TAKAICHI Sanae in Tokyo today. The President is currently on a four-day visit of Nepal. “We are grateful for the continuous support, goodwill and understanding of the Japanese government towards us, and we want to work together with the Japanese leadership in the coming days to further strengthen the friendly relations and mutual cooperation,” said President Paudel, according to the President's press advisor Kiran Pokharel.

Stating that the 70th anniversary of Nepal-Japan diplomatic relations is a milestone in the bilateral relations, he said that such high-level visits would further strengthen the relations. Japan is an important development partner in Nepal's socio-economic development and there is a great potential to attract Japanese investment in Nepal's development priority areas, as well as expanding bilateral trade. "For this, legal, procedural and institutional reforms have been made to facilitate trade, attract foreign investment and promote innovation in Nepal," President Poudel said.

He said that Japan's bilateral grants, loans, multilateral assistance and technical assistance have made significant contributions to human resource development, health, agricultural development, infrastructure development, environmental protection and cultural preservation in Nepal.

The President also expressed the confidence that Nepal will continue to receive cooperation and goodwill from Japan as always as Nepal is upgrades from the category of least developed countries. He expressed his best wishes for the success of the general elections to be held soon in Japan.

On the occasion, Japanese Prime Minister TAKAICHI expressed Japan's best wishes for the success of upcoming March 5 election to the House of Representatives in Nepal, as the stability of Nepal is important for Japan and the region. The Japanese Prime Minister also said that Japan would send observers to the election, President's press advisor Kiran Pokharel.

Stating that Nepal and Japan have been close friends for a long time, she said that the relations between the two countries are deepening due to the contacts of Nepali students studying in Japan and the climbing of Nepal's mountains by Japanese citizens.

Prime Minister TAKAICHI said that Japan would continue to support Nepal in the field of information technology and democracy. (RSS)