Staff Reporter:
Nepal’s Parliament Speaker Dol Prasad Aryal yesterday expressed keen interest in expanding parliamen-tary exchanges with Bangladesh, including greater engagement between parliamentary committees and friendship groups to strengthen democratic practices and bilateral cooperation.
The remarks came when Bangladesh Ambassador to Nepal Md. Shafiqur Rahman paid a courtesy call on him in Kathmandu, according to a press release received here.
During the meeting, the Speaker reaffirmed Nepal’s commitment to advancing bilateral relations and assured his full support, through his legislative role, to further consolidate cooperation between the two neighbouring countries.
Aryal praised Bangladesh’s impressive achievements in economic growth and infrastructure development, saying the country’s development experience could offer valuable lessons for Nepal.
He also highlighted the role of sports, tourism, cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts in bringing the peoples of the two countries closer together.
Referring to shared environmental vulnerabilities, the Speaker stressed the importance of enhanced re-gional cooperation to address the impacts of climate change affecting both the Himalayan region and coastal areas.
Describing the two countries as close and friendly neighbors, he highlighted the vast untapped potential for cooperation and stressed the need for greater collaboration, exchange of expertise and partnership in addressing common development and socio-economic challenges.
The ambassador expressed Bangladesh’s readiness to expand cooperation in energy, trade, tourism, edu-cation, agriculture, food security, women’s empowerment, youth development and people-to-people con-nectivity.
He also underlined the importance of strengthening collaboration through regional and international fo-rums, including SAARC and BIMSTEC, and promoting trade, connectivity and investment across the South Asia.
