Durga Prasad Bhattarai, Ambassador Extraordinary, and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations, and Walton Alfonso Webson, Ambassador Extraordinary, and Plenipotentiary and Permanent Representative of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations signed a Joint Communique to this effect at a brief ceremony in New York.
According to a press release issued by Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while signing the Joint Communique, the two ambassadors shared the view that the diplomatic relations will bring the two countries and peoples closer still at the bilateral front. They also expressed their confidence that the relations and scope of cooperation between the two countries will further deepen and expand in the future both at bilateral and multilateral levels.
The two Ambassadors also jointly informed António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, about the establishment of Nepal- Antigua and Barbuda bilateral relations today.
Antigua and Barbuda is a small island developing state of about 90 thousand people, located between the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Its capital is St. John's, on Antigua.
Antigua and Barbuda joined the United Nations on 11 November 1981 following its independence from the United Kingdom on 1 November 1981.
Tourism dominates the economy, accounting for more than half of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Antigua is famous for its many luxury resorts.
Both Nepal and Antigua and Barbuda are active members of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77.
The number of countries with which Nepal has established diplomatic relations has now reached 148.