The European Commissioner for International Partnerships Her Excellency Ms. Jutta Urpilainen called on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal “Prachanda” at Singha Durbar today. Various matters related to Nepal-EU cooperation were discussed during the meeting.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Bimala Rai Paudyal hosted a working luncheon in honour of the visiting European Commissioner. During the conversation, Hon’ble Foreign Minister stated that the European Union is a major provider of development assistance, most of which comes as a budgetary support. She conveyed the Government of Nepal’s appreciation of the EU’s cooperation in the priority areas of rural development, renewable energy, drinking water, forest and agriculture, among others. Mentioning the Green, Resilient and Inclusive Development (GRID) strategy adopted by the Government of Nepal in 2021,

The Foreign Minister highlighted that the Strategy has been put forth to systematically address the twin developmental challenges posed by the adverse impacts of Covid-19 pandemic, on the one hand and vulnerability to climate change, on the other.

The EU Commissioner discussed the new phase of the EU’s cooperation program for Nepal under Multi-Annual Indicative Program 2021-27 and the priority areas, including renewable energy, energy security and access to clean energy, water and sanitation as well as human capital development.

The two sides discussed trade and investment as crucial components of Nepal-EU relationship.

According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both sides underlined the importance of multilateralism, with the United Nations at its center.

The EU Commissioner also called on President Bidhya Devi Bhandari.