Foreign secretary urges for Thai investment in Nepal

Kathmandu, Aug 25

Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal urged Thailand to support Nepal in attracting Thai investment.

Speaking at the fifth meeting of Nepal-Thailand Joint Commission held virtually on Wednesday, he underscored the need for enhancing economic engagements between the two countries.

He apprised the Thai delegation of the policy, legal, institutional and procedural reforms undertaken by the Government of Nepal with a view to creating an enabling environment for foreign investment in the country, said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in a statement.

Foreign Secretary Paudyal and Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Thani Thongphakdi led their respective delegations to the meeting.

“During the meeting, the two sides took stock of overall state of bilateral relations between Nepal and Thailand and exchanged views on further promoting cooperation between the two countries,” read the statement.

The two sides discussed the challenges posed by the COVID-19 on the lives and livelihoods of peoples of both the countries and agreed to work together in combating the pandemic.

According to the MoFA, Paudyal thanked the Royal Family of Thailand, the Thai Foreign Ministry, the Veerapuchong Foundation, and the Royal Thai Monastery, Lumbini for providing Nepal with medical equipment and supplies to combat the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

On the occasion, issues pertaining to Nepal-Thailand relations including technical cooperation, trade and investment, tourism and culture, people-to-people contacts, and education were discussed.

The two sides also exchanged views on enhancing cooperation at the regional level including through BIMSTEC.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 26 August 2021.