Nepal FM Khadka thanks US for medical help during COVID-19

Nepal Foreign Minister Narayan Khadka on Friday thanked the US for providing valuable medical support, including COVID-19 vaccines, to the country to overcome the major health crisis.

Khadka met with the US delegation led by Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs of the Department of State Donald Lu and they discussed the bilateral and trade ties, and the Nepal-US friendship.

Lu and Deputy Assistant Secretary Kelly Keiderling are currently in Kathmandu on a two-day visit.

Foreign Minister Khadka thanked the US government for valuable medical support including vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic, the US embassy here said in a statement.

"The conversation also covered various areas of Nepal’s development priorities as well as the role of trade and investment in the post-pandemic economic recovery," it said.

The two sides exchanged views on the longstanding US cooperation with Nepal, including Millennium Corporation Challenge projects that could be important for the country’s economic development, said a statement issued by the foreign ministry.

"The Assistant Secretary of State, while conveying to the Foreign Minister the congratulatory message from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, looked forward to working closely with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on matters of mutual interests," it said. He also assured the foreign minister of the continued US cooperation with Nepal, it said.

"Acknowledging the adverse impacts of climate change on climate-vulnerable mountainous countries like Nepal, the two sides discussed effective climate action and the need for financing adaptation and mitigation measures,” it said.