Kathmandu, Jan. 20
Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Arzu Rana
Deuba, has reached out to her Egyptian counterpart, Dr. Badr Abdelatty, to seek
urgent action to secure the release of Bipin Joshi, a Nepali youth held captive
by the Palestinian group Hamas since October 2023.
The call took place on Monday while
Minister Rana was in Bangkok for medical treatment, the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs (MoFA) informed in a statement.
Hamas has recently initiated the release of
hostages following a ceasefire agreement and peace talks with the Israeli
government. FM Dr. Rana urged Egypt, through its Foreign Minister Dr. Abdelatty
to prioritise efforts for Bipin’s release in the first phase of the ongoing
process.
During the conversation, she thanked Egypt
for its pivotal role in brokering the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas. In
response, the Egyptian Foreign Minister assured her that he would issue
specific instructions to Egyptian mediators to focus on Bipin’s case, informed
the MoFA.
According to it, Minister Dr. Rana has been
actively lobbying key mediators, including Qatar and Egypt, to secure Bipin’s
freedom since the beginning of the ceasefire discussions.
Earlier, she also held a phone conversation
with Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz
Al-Khulaifi, a lead negotiator in the peace talks, to push for the same.
Likewise, FM Dr. Rana recently spoke with
Israel’s Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa’ar, urging the Israeli government to
ensure Bipin’s release in the first phase of the hostage release programme.
"The Government of Nepal has been
pursuing diplomatic channels since last year to secure Bipin’s release.
Minister Rana has raised the issue at the United Nations and during various
international and regional forums, consistently advocating for his freedom,"
read the statement.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 21 January 2025.
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