Press Release
The fifth meeting of the Bilateral Consultation Mechanism between Nepal and the Republic of Korea (ROK) was held in Kathmandu today.
Joint Secretary of the North East Asia Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Mr. Lok Bahadur Thapa and Director General, South Asian and Pacific Affairs Bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of ROK Mr. Sangryol LEE led their respective delegations to the meeting. They took stock of overall state of Nepal-ROK relations and stressed on the importance of exchange of high-level visits and engagements to further promote friendly ties between the two countries.
On the occasion, the two sides discussed and exchanged views on further promoting cooperation in the areas of COVID-19 response and recovery, trade, investment, employment, energy, technology, education, tourism, culture, and people-to-people relations, among others. While underscoring the contribution of Nepali workers in Korea to the economies of both countries, the two sides agreed on the need to renew the Memorandum of Understanding on the Employment Permit System (EPS) at the earliest. The Nepali side requested the Korean side to increase the number of quotas to Nepal under EPS and to arrange to receive the Nepali workers who passed EPS tests as early as possible.
During the consultations, the two sides also discussed possible cooperation in mutually beneficial areas at regional and multilateral level including UN and SAARC.
Senior officials of various line Ministries of the Government of Nepal were part of the Nepali delegation. The Korean delegation comprised the officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Kathmandu, Country Director of KOICA Nepal Office and the representative of EPS center in Nepal.
Later today, Director General Mr. Sangryol LEE paid a courtesy call on the Foreign Secretary Mr. Bharat Raj Paudyal at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A wide range of issues of mutual interests were discussed during the meeting.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Singh Durbar, Kathmandu
9 November 2021