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Nepal-Canada Foreign Minister-level bilateral meeting: Nepal asks Canada to open embassy in Kathmandu

Nepali students account for Canada’s third fastest-growing student population. But due to lack of Canadian embassy in Nepal, Nepali students and other nationals have to go to New Delhi for visa process.

Kathmandu: Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal Dr Arzu Rana Deuba and her Canadian counterpart, Melanie Joly, held a bilateral meeting in Ottawa, Canada on Wednesday.  The embassy of Nepal in Canada has said the meeting was “productive and forward looking.”

Two Foreign Affairs Ministers discussed various aspects of Nepal-Canada ties, mutual interest and concern as well as on promotion of investment and partnership, according to the Nepal embassy. During the meeting, Foreign Minister Rana praised the cooperation extended to Nepal by Canada in Nepal’s democratic process and in drafting the present constitution. She informed that Nepal’s parliament has recently endorsed the laws related to the transitional justice, which will facilitate in concluding the remaining works of the peace process.

Expressing gratitude to Canada for the support the Government of Canada has provided to Nepal during the difficult period of the earthquake and Covid-19 pandemic as well as for the country’s socio-economic progress, Minister Rana urged Canada to establish its embassy in Nepal. Rana argued that it would be fruitful to Canada also to set up its embassy in a democratic country like Nepal situated between two large countries of Asia.

She also invited the Canadian Foreign Minister to visit Nepal. Bilateral talks will be held in Kathmandu in coming December and an agreement has been reached to prepare the basis for a bilateral understanding on tourism and education. Agreement has been reached for collaboration in the ‘feminist foreign policy’ introduced by Canada while giving continuity to Canada’s assistance to Nepal in the women empowerment sector. Canadian Foreign Minister Joly informed Minister Rana that the Government of Canada is prepared to assist Nepal through the Canadian Pension Fund. She expressed positive response to the proposal of opening an embassy of Canada in Nepal.

Canada is one of the most preferred destinations of Nepali students. Nepali students accounted for Canada’s third fastest-growing student population in 2023, according to a recent report.

Due to lack of Canadian embassy in Nepal, Nepali students and other Nepalis who want to go to Canada have to submit their visa applications and passports to the Canadian High Commission in New Delhi. Bharat Raj Paudyal, ambassador of Nepal to Canada at the moment, had raised this issue with Canadian officials while he was the foreign secretary. During his meeting with Assistant Deputy Minister of Global Affairs, Canada Paul Thoppil in September, 2022, Paudyal had requested the Canadian government to establish residential embassy in Nepal.