Today we mark a significant date — the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Russia and Nepal. These relations are traditionally friendly in nature, drawing on a rich history of economic and cultural-humanitarian ties, and are characterized by the absence of systemic contradictions and a broad alignment of approaches to key issues on the international agenda. In September 2025, on the sidelines of the SCO summit in Tianjin, China, a meeting between the leaders of our states took place, reflecting the readiness of both sides to expand cooperation. We hope that we will steadily advance in this direction. I wholeheartedly congratulate all our Nepali friends on this anniversary of diplomatic relations!
The heads of foreign ministries of our countries exchanged warm congratulatory messages. I would also like to separately congratulate our colleagues from Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We highly value our close cooperation. We are deeply impressed by the high professionalism of Nepali diplomats, who are always open to joint work and simply ready to help. This is especially important now, when our interaction extends far beyond the bilateral agenda on the international arena, where the countries of the global majority are increasingly voicing their legitimate rights.
We would also like today to congratulate and express special words of gratitude to our friends from numerous Russian and Nepali public organizations, who are the true mainstay of bilateral cooperation: the Society for Friendship and Cooperation with Nepal, the Association of Nepali Graduates of Soviet and Russian Universities “Mitra Kunj,” the Nepal-Russia Association for Friendship and Culture, “Friends of RUDN University”, the Nepal-Russia Literary Society, the Nepal-Russia ICT society, the Association of Russian Compatriots in Nepal, and many others.
Taking this opportunity, we also want to extend our congratulations and express our special gratitude to the Nepali media for their attention to covering the issues of bilateral relations.
Seven decades is an entire epoch, filled with historical changes both in the world and in the destinies of our countries. At the same time, 70 years can fit within one human lifetime, and among us there are people who remember the events of distant 1956. Many who were not just witnesses, but true builders of the history of our friendship. Behind this round date lies the labor of many generations: diplomats and engineers, doctors and agronomists, construction workers and writers, and many, many others. Today we pay tribute to the contribution of each and every one of them.
We acknowledge that over these 70 years, the intensity of our interaction has varied. The most vivid and fruitful period came during the existence of the Soviet Union. To this day, when receiving letters addressed to the Embassy, we often see the salutation — “comrades.” We feel a special, warm attitude from Nepalis toward us. We understand that this largely echoes the assistance that the USSR provided. We are sincerely grateful to the people of Nepal for this thankful remembrance. This friendship, tested over decades, serves as a solid foundation on which we intend to build a new, modern framework of our cooperation.
We respect Nepal’s consistent foreign policy, which for decades has been based on the principle of non-alignment. We take into account the new government’s focus on pragmatic economic diplomacy. We proceed from these two fundamental pillars for the further steady development of bilateral relations with an emphasis on mutually beneficial trade and economic partnership.
We have proposed to our Nepali partners to intensify and expand the mechanism of bilateral cooperation, while simultaneously organizing regular dialogue both between government bodies and business circles of the two countries.
Let me emphasize the obvious: Russian-Nepali cooperation has colossal potential. Our country has significant advantages in key areas for Nepal’s economy. We have extensive experience in hydropower, broad opportunities for cooperation in agriculture, and fertilizer supplies. I would note in passing that it is precisely in these areas that a significant number of specialists — graduates of Soviet and Russian universities, a unique human resources asset — work in Nepal. Our country holds leading positions in ICT, including artificial intelligence — behind us there is a powerhouse of our glorious mathematical school! Therefore, in this area as well, we see great potential for fruitful interaction.
We consider our good relations with Nepal’s neighbours — India and China — also to be a special advantage. We believe that close cooperation with Russia optimally serves the interests of Nepal’s harmonious and balanced foreign policy.
Once again, the advancement of cooperation must be preceded by the creation of a mechanism for consultations, intensive and thorough exchange of information about what the needs are, what the possibilities and prospects are. In this regard, we invite Nepali leaders and businesspeople to participate in key international forums in Russia — the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, the Eastern Economic Forum, the Global Digital Forum, and many others. For our part, the Embassy is ready to make efforts to ensure representation of Russia at events in Nepal.
I would like to note that we are very pleased with the gradual increase in the Russian tourist flow to Nepal. We think that to a certain extent this is the result of the active participation of the Nepal Tourism Board in Russian specialized exhibitions. Interest in Nepal in our country is huge: mountaineering, trekking, wellness tourism and in the near future we expect an increase in the number of Buddhist pilgrim trips as well. We hope that if the tourist flow continues to grow just as dynamically, it will be easier for us to resolve the long-worn issue of restoring direct air service between Russia and Nepal.
I look to the future of our cooperation with optimism. We are bound to succeed.
[𝐴𝑟𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑎𝑛 𝐴𝑚𝑏𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑑𝑜𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑁𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑙 𝐴𝑙𝑒𝑥𝑒𝑦 𝑆𝑢𝑟𝑜𝑣𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑣 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 70𝑡ℎ 𝑎𝑛𝑛𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑠𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑅𝑢𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑎-𝑁𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑝𝑙𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝑟𝑒𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠]
