Talking to media after the meeting, the Turkish minister Davutoglu said the two countries have decided to strengthen political, economic and cultural relations. “…we have decided to cooperate in tourism, trade and energy. We will be working together on various projects,” he said. [break]
Minister Davutoglu said Nepal has a great potential in tourism because “the Himalayan nation has a strong historical and cultural background.” ...we are ready to cooperate in developing tourism here; tourist facilitation and promotion of tourism,” he said.
Nepal and Turkey have already inked an Air Service Agreement (ASA) in September, 2010. The ASA allows the two countries to operate 14 flights per week between Kathmandu and Istanbul.
Davutoglu told Khanal that Turkey is ready to share its experiences on tourism industry as it has remained one of the most popular tourist destination countries in the world for the past several years.
“Also to boost trade and business relations we will complete our legal agreements and encourage foreign direct investment in Nepal,” said the visiting foreign minister.
(Photo: Bhaswor Ojha)
Davutoglu´s visit, two days before the Foreign Minister-level conference of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) being held in New Delhi from Friday, marks first ever visit to Nepal by any Turkish minister. While Turkey is holding fourth UN Conference on LDCs between May 9 and 13, Nepal is the current chair of the LDCs forum. Prime Minister Khanal has accepted Davutoglu´s invitation to chair the LDC-IV conference, according to the PM´s foreign relations advisor Milan Tuladhar.
The issue of establishing Turkish embassy in Kathmandu also surfaced during the meeting. Though the diplomatic relations between Nepal and Turkey was established on November 15, 1962, neither has an embassy in other´s country. “At present our embassy in New Delhi is taking care of affairs related to Nepal. We hope we will soon open an embassy here,” the Turkish foreign minister told media and also welcomed Nepal to establish its embassy in his country.
Turkish Foreign Minister Davutoglu also held separate meeting with President Dr Ram Baran Yadav and Deputy Prime Minister Bharat Mohan Adhikari. He arrived in Kathmandu Wednesday, leading a 33-member Turkish delegation.
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