Japanese PM meets President Paudel in Tokyo, discusses development partnership, investment

TOKYO: Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi paid a courtesy call on President Ramchandra Paudel in Tokyo today.

The president, who is on a four-day visit to Japan, expressed appreciation for the assistance provided and the role played by Japan as an important and reliable development partner in Nepal’s socio-economic development, press adviser Kiran Pokharel said. “We are grateful for the continuous support, goodwill and understanding of the Japanese government towards us, and we want to work together with the Japanese leadership in the coming days to further strengthen the friendly relations and mutual cooperation,” Paudel said.

Stating that the 70th anniversary of Nepal-Japan diplomatic relations is a milestone in bilateral ties, Paudel said such high-level visits would further strengthen relations. He said Japan is an important development partner in Nepal’s socio-economic development and there is great potential to attract Japanese investment in Nepal’s development priority areas, as well as to expand bilateral trade. “For this, legal, procedural and institutional reforms have been made to facilitate trade, attract foreign investment and promote innovation in Nepal,” Paudel said.

He added that Japan’s bilateral grants, loans, multilateral assistance and technical support have made significant contributions to human resource development, health, agricultural development, infrastructure, environmental protection and cultural preservation in Nepal.

The president expressed confidence that Nepal will continue to receive cooperation and goodwill from Japan as Nepal is upgraded from the category of least developed countries. He also expressed his best wishes for the success of the general elections to be held soon in Japan.

On the occasion, Prime Minister Takaichi expressed Japan’s best wishes for the success of the upcoming March 5 election to the House of Representatives in Nepal, saying Nepal’s stability is important for Japan and the region. The prime minister also said Japan would send observers to the election, Paudel’s press adviser Kiran Pokharel said.

Takaichi said Nepal and Japan have been close friends for a long time and that relations are deepening through contacts between Nepali students studying in Japan and Japanese citizens climbing Nepal’s mountains. She added that Japan would continue to support Nepal in the fields of information technology and democracy.

(With inputs from RSS)