The Embassy of Israel together with the Center for Diplomatic Dialogue (CeDiD) conducted a Seminar on “6 Decades of Nepal-Israel Relations” on 18 March 2021. This year marks the 60th year of the establishment of diplomatic relations, the foundation stone in the history of our two countries. The Honourable Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Pradeep Kumar Gnawali graced the event as the Chief Guest.
The Guest speakers included:
1. H.E. Mr. Hanan Goder-Goldberger, Ambassador of Israel to Nepal
2. H.E. Dr. Anjan Shakya, Ambassador of Nepal to Israel
3. H.E. Mr. Arjun Bahadur Thapa, Former SAARC Secretary General
4. Dr. Jay Raj Acharya, Former Ambassador to the UN
5. Prof. Bim Prasad Shrestha, President, Shalom Club Nepal
6. Mr. Santosh Shah, Media Personality
The speakers spoke about Nepal-Israel bilateral ties, multilateral relations and existing cooperation and the possibilities of future collaborations between the two countries.
Addressing the ceremony, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Hon. Mr. Pradeep Kumar Gnawali said, “As we are celebrating the milestone of 60 years of our relations this year, I wish to extend, on behalf of the Government and people of Nepal as well as on my own, warmest felicitations to the Government and people of Israel on this special occasion. I recall with pleasure that Nepal was the first country in the South Asia region to formally recognize the State of Israel by establishing diplomatic relations and hosting Israeli Embassy in Kathmandu. Our relations have continued to flourish over the years. We have continued to cooperate and collaborate on various areas of mutual interests at the bilateral as well as multilateral levels. This milestone in our relationship has inspired us to contemplate and take further step to strengthen and consolidate friendly ties between our two countries and peoples through increased level of engagements and by exploring new avenues of cooperation. I express my confidence that Nepal-Israel relations will continue to strengthen and expand in the days ahead. ”
During the ceremony, H.E. Mr. Hanan Goder, Ambassador of Israel to Nepal said, “Relations between countries stand on two legs: one is this excellent leg of bilateral leg and the second leg is the multilateral leg, which is less famous, less known and has much lower visibility. The multilateral relations take place mainly in the UN building in New York and in the Human Rights Council in Geneva, and sometime in other locations. It is time that both bilateral and multilateral levels are also reflected in the voting pattern of Nepal at the UN as well as other global forums.”
A short video message by H.E. Dr. Anjan Shakya, Ambassador of Nepal to Israel was also displayed. H.E. Dr. Shakya talked about bilateral relations and cooperation between the two countries.
Mr. Tal Shvartsman, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy presented about the strong cooperation our two countries are having since 1960s to date in major sectors such as Agriculture, Education and Health, among many others.
The seminar provided an opportunity to commend the existing bilateral ties and invited us to reflect on the possibilities of improving multilateral relations between our two nations. This is one of the major events among many events that were organized during the year to celebrate 60 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations.