Estonia and Nepal celebrated 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations

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Honorary Consul Nava Raj Dahal welcomed Ambassador Katrin Kivi to Nepal

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Estonia and the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.

In order to host the anniversary celebration, Her Excellency Katrin Kivi made an official visit to Nepal from 19 – 22 April 2022. Honorary Consul of Estonia in Nepal Mr. Nava Raj Dahal received and welcomed Her Excellency upon her arrival at the VIP lounge in Tribhuvan International Airport in the afternoon of 19 April.

Reception Dinner hosted to celebrate 30th Anniversary

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary celebration, Honorary Consul of Estonia in Nepal Mr. Nava Raj Dahal hosted a Dinner Reception in the special presence of Ambassador Katrin Kivi on 20 April 2022 at 18:30 hrs at Hotel Yak & Yeti, Durbar Marg.

Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal Mr. Bharat Raj Paudyal participated in the anniversary program along with Joint Secretary of Europe America Division Mr. Nirmal Raj Kafle.

During his speech, Secretary Paudyal said that the Nepal and Estonia have enjoyed cordial relations based on mutual interest and trust and the relationship has remained very fruitful. He further commended Estonia for its digital innovations, good governance and economic development and added that Nepal has been an important destination for Estonian tourists.

Expressing her views in the program, the Ambassador of Estonia to Nepal Katrin Kivi said that Estonia has accorded high priority to its relations with Nepal. The Ambassador praised Nepal for its support to Estonia to secure non-permanent seat at UN Security Council for the term 2020-2021 and hoped the relations will further strengthen in the future.

Honorary Consul of Estonia Mr. Nava Raj Dahal said that there was a bright prospect for the peoples and governments of both countries to create a better future by building on their past achievements and common and shared values. He further said, “While Nepal is a leader in adventure tourism and natural resources, Estonia is a world leader in Information Technology. Estonia is the first country to introduce e-voting, e-residency, e-governance and innovate the globally popular app Skype.”

Distinguished participants in the program included Ambassadors of different countries as well as Honorary Consuls/Consuls-General, representatives of business fraternity and media.

To mark this special anniversary celebration, Estonia and Nepal officially exchanged Congratulatory Letter expressing commitment to continue the spirit of cooperation at bilateral and multilateral levels.

On the sidelines of the main event, Her Excellency Katrin Kivi held one-to-one meeting with Hon. Foreign Minister Mr. Narayan Khadka and Foreign Secretary Mr. Bharat Paudyal at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 20 April.

Bilateral meetings were also held on the same day with Joint Secretary Dr. Durga Bahadur Subedi-Chief of Protocol and Joint Secretary Mr. Nirmal Raj Kafle-Chief of Europe America Division.

The meetings were very fruitful in further promoting and strengthening Estonia-Nepal relationship Major agendas for discussion included information technology & cyber security, global warming, tourism and Ukraine-Russia conflict.

On 21 April Her Excellency held separate meetings with H.E. Ambassador of Germany to Nepal Dr. Thomas Prinz and Ambassador H.E. Ambassador of Finland to Nepal Mr. Pertti Anttinen at respective embassies as well as Ambassador Nona Deprez Head of European Union Delegation to Nepal.

Likewise the following day on 22 April, Her Excellency called on Hon. Pampha Bhusal, Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation at the Ministry during which discussions were held on the possibility of cooperation between the two countries in the field of renewable energy, irrigation projects and Information Technology. Both agreed to further cement bilateral relations at people-to-people and government-to-government level.

Ambassador Katrin Kivi also gave an interview to Avenues Television, a national TV station based in Kathmandu, where she presented her views regarding the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict and possibilities for increasing bilateral cooperation between Estonia and Nepal.

Interview Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7GCENG6k30

After successful completion of her 4 days official trip to Nepal, Ambassador Katrin Kivi departed for New Delhi, India on 22 April 2022. Honorary Consul Mr. Nava Raj Dahal accompanied her to the airport to bid her goodbye.

The official visit of Ambassador Katrin Kivi coinciding with the 30th anniversary celebration organized in Kathmandu was an eventful happening drawing the attention of diplomatic community, media and business circle. The bilateral one-to-one meetings Ambassador Katrin Kivi held with Ministers and high-level government officials were very successful in identifying common values and interests and reiterating commitments for increased bilateral cooperation. Overall this proved to be an occasion to further strengthen and consolidate the diplomatic relations between Estonia and Nepal.