Call for establishing Oman Embassy in Kathmandu

KATHMANDU, AUGUST 8: The Nepal government has requested the Oman government to consider establishing its embassy in Kathmandu. Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal made this request during a meeting with high-ranking officials from Oman yesterday. In the first meeting of the Nepal-Oman Bilateral Consultation Mechanism, held in Muscat, Foreign Secretary Lamsal emphasized the need for collaboration in areas of mutual interest.

During the meeting, the leaders of the delegations reviewed the entire spectrum of bilateral relations and expressed satisfaction with the excellent state of relations between Nepal and Oman since 1977, according to the Muscat-based Nepali Embassy.

They discussed various aspects of bilateral relations and agreed to promote cooperation across all sectors, including high-level visits, trade, investment, economic cooperation, agriculture, energy, tourism, labour and foreign employment, culture, education, and direct air connectivity. They expressed a firm commitment to further enhance their partnership in these mutually agreed areas and to work together to realize economic opportunities for mutual benefit, while also creating more opportunities to promote people-to-people engagement.

Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal thanked the Government of Oman for providing employment to more than 21,000 Nepalis and emphasized the need for additional opportunities in light of His Majesty’s Oman Vision 2040 strategy. She stressed the exploration of untapped potential in economic, cultural, and educational areas and proposed establishing meaningful collaborative partnerships, including in the private sector. She further urged the Omani side to explore investment opportunities in Nepal, particularly in hydropower, the tourism sector, and green hydrogen.

On this occasion, Undersecretary Sheikh Khalifa bin Ali bin Issa Alharthy expressed willingness to promote cooperation between Nepal and Oman in all mutually agreed sectors and hoped to conclude the pending MOUs. He highlighted the potential of the bilateral relationship, emphasized working together to realize actual benefits, and mentioned the positive and hardworking nature of Nepali workers. Both sides shared views on maintaining the tradition of regular high-level visits and expressed their commitment to cooperating in various multilateral forums, including the United Nations. They also deliberated on enhancing the existing excellent relations through diversified engagement in multiple sectors.

Earlier, Foreign Secretary Lamsal paid a courtesy call to Dr. Mahad bin Said bin Ali Baowain, Minister of Labour, Sultanate of Oman. Discussions included matters related to mutual cooperation, such as an MoU in the field of labour and human resource exchange and employment opportunities.

The Nepal-Oman Bilateral Consultation Mechanism was established in 2017. The next meeting of the mechanism will be held in Kathmandu on mutually convenient dates.

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