Nepal and the Republic of Nauru established diplomatic relations on Thursday. With this, the number of countries having diplomatic relations with Nepal has reached 179.

Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations, Amrit Bahadur Rai, and his Nauruan counterpart Margo Reminisse Deiye signed a Joint Communiqué to this effect in a brief ceremony held at the Permanent Mission of Nepal in New York, informed the mission in its statement.

The two ambassadors also signed a joint letter informing the Secretary General of the United Nations, António Guterres, about the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On the occasion, the two ambassadors expressed their confidence that diplomatic ties will be instrumental in bringing the two countries and peoples together in bilateral and multilateral forums including the United Nations. The mission in New York informed that Rai and Deiye also exchanged views on various measures to further broaden the scope of mutual cooperation in the future.

Nauru is an oval-shaped island republic in the Pacific Ocean situated in the north-east of Australia. It has a total area of 24 square kilometers and a population of approximately 12,000. It is one of the smallest UN members in terms of population. Nauru gained its independence on January 31, 1968 and was admitted to the United Nations as a member in September 1999.