Press Release
Nepal and Benin established formal bilateral diplomatic relations
Nepal and Benin established formal bilateral diplomatic relations today.
Permanent Representatives of Nepal and Benin to the United Nations, Ambassadors Mr. Durga Prasad Bhattarai and Mr. Jean-Claude do Rego, respectively signed a Joint Communiqué to this effect at the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York, this afternoon. They also signed a joint letter informing the United Nations Secretary-General about this development.
On the occasion, the two Ambassadors shared views on further widening and deepening bilateral cooperation in the future. The two countries are already working closely at the United Nations and other multilateral forums.
Benin is a tropical country in Western Africa with a population of nearly 11 million (2016) in an area of 114,763 sq.km. It is bordered by Nigeria and Togo to the east and west respectively and serves as a transit country to Burkina Faso and Niger to the Gulf of Guinea in the South Atlantic Ocean. Benin is one of Africa’s most stable democracies and one of Africa’s largest cotton producers, and a champion of South-South Cooperation. Formerly known as Dahomey, Benin is also known for practicing voodoo religion.
Both Nepal and Benin are least developed countries, and members of the Group of 77 as well as the Non-Aligned Movement. Benin chaired the Group of LDCs from 2013-2015, succeeding Nepal (2010-2012).
Benin joined the United Nations on 20 September 1960, following its independence from France on 1 August 1960.
With the Government of Nepal’s special initiative to make the country’s bilateral diplomatic relations as universal as possible, the number of countries with which Nepal has bilateral diplomatic relations has now reached 157, including all countries that had joined the United Nations before 1960.
23 January 2018