Kathmandu, Oct 31: Minister for Foreign Affairs N. P. Saud held a meeting today with the US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken at the Department of State, Washington DC.
According to Embassy of Nepal to United States, various agendas of bilateral relations including development cooperation, trade and market access, investment and technology, agriculture and food security featured in the discussion.The two leaders also exchanged views on regional and international issues of common concern.
During the meeting, both sides expressed satisfaction over the current state of bilateral relations between Nepal and the USA while renewing their commitment to expand and deepen engagements across the areas of mutual interests.
The Foreign Minister highlighted development priorities of Nepal in the context of the country’s graduation from the least developed country and called for enhanced level of support from the United States in the areas of trade and investment, market access, food security and IT sector, among others. He requested the United States for reauthorization and expansion of Nepal Trade Preference Program (NTPP) and GSP facilities by adding new exportable items of interest for Nepal.
Minister Saud thanked the US government for its continued cooperation for socio-economic development of Nepal, including the recent US assistance through USAID and Millennium Challenge Compact. Both sides stressed the importance of timely implementation of the projects under the MCC.
Appreciating Nepal’s progress in consolidating democratic governance, Secretary Blinken expressed that the US Government wishes to see Nepal as a strong and prosperous democracy. Secretary Blinken assured the Foreign Minister that the US would continue its support to Nepal’s development endeavours.
The two sides also exchanged views on Nepal-US cooperation in multilateral forums, and other matters of common concern in regional and global affairs, including the ongoing situation in the Middle-East.
During the bilateral meeting, Minister Saud was accompanied by Ambassador Sridhar Khatri and other senior officials from the Ministry and the Embassy. Secretary Blinken was accompanied by US Ambassador to Nepal Dean Thompson and senior officials from the Department of State.
Foreign Minister Saud arrived in Washington DC for the bilateral visit Wednesday morning.
