Kathmandu: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is leaving for Spain coming Saturday for an official visit, leading a Nepali delegation. In course of the official visit, he is scheduled to participate in the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development from coming June 30 to July 3. Ambassador of Nepal to Spain, Shanil Nepal said that all preparations for the visit have been completed. He further said the Nepali community in Spain is excited and eager to welcome the PM. During the visit, PM Oli will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts. On the occasion, Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on the expansion of bilateral relations and cooperation will be signed.
The Prime Minister will also interact with the Nepali community and Spanish business fraternity during his visit. The Embassy has stated that there will be other crucial bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the conference. Spain is a western European country having a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.
Spain joined the European Union in 1986 and the Schengen area in 1995. The diplomatic relations between Nepal and Spain were established on 13 May 1968. However, Nepal established its residential Embassy there in 2018. Since there is no Spanish Embassy here, the Embassy in Delhi has been looking after diplomatic affairs with Nepal. Nepal and Spain have exchanged high-level visits since long. The then King Birendra visited Spain in 1983, and Spanish King Carlos also made a four-day state visit to Nepal in 1987. Likewise, the then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ participated in a high-level discussion on the trafficking of conflict-affected persons in 2016. Similarly, in 2019, former Minister for Communications Gokul Baskota attended a ministerial GSM event held in Spain. Former President Bidya Devi Bhandari visited Spain in 2021, during which an agreement was reached to cooperate in the areas of climate change and tourism between Nepal and Spain. In terms of foreign employment, Spain is emerging as a new destination for Nepali workers. Spain has always been a prime tourist destination in the world. Tourism is an important sector among the main sources of income there. Statistics show that 12.5 million tourists visit Spain annually. Meanwhile, 19,563 tourists from Spain had visited Nepal in 2018. Nepal is also emerging as a destination for Spanish and other European tourists with its beautiful natural landscape, diverse culture, spiritual heritage, and potential for adventure tourism, among others.
This high-level visit is expected to further enhance Nepal’s visibility as a tourism and investment space in Europe.
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