-Nistha Aryal
Kathmandu/ Islamabad: The Ambassador of Nepal to Pakistan, Tapas Adhikari said, December 14, 2022, that Nepal-Pakistan bilateral trade relations though are in a very limited scale but yet continues to improve over the years.
“We are optimistic on the recent positive trends after the Covid-19 pandemic on bilateral economic engagements and is expected to exceed the pre-Covid level very soon, opined Ambassador Adhikari.
Ambassador Adhikari recalled that “In 2020, Nepal exported goods of 100 million NRs and imported 1.04 billion Nepali rupees from Pakistan”.
“Our mission in Islamabad is committed to work with the local business community across Pakistan for further enhancing the bilateral trade relations between our two friendly countries,” the Nepali envoy added.
Notably, both Nepal and Pakistan are distinguished members of the SAARC regional body.
Speaking at a reception thrown by the Nepali diplomat in honor of the Pakistani journalists, the Ambassador of Nepal said that tourism was a niche product of Nepal and it is a hub of adventure tourism”, writes Shafqat Ali, December 14, 2022, for the News Daily, Islamabad.
“Many Pakistani friends visit Nepal as tourists and Nepali and Pakistani mountaineers are working together in various mountaineering expeditions in Nepal or in Pakistan, Ali further writes for the News Daily.
Lamenting on the unavailability of the direct air link to have hampered the large flow of tourists”, said the Ambassador adding “once we could be able to resume the air services, there is high possibility of tourists’ flow between Nepal and Pakistan”.
He, on the occasion reminded the Nepali and Pakistani mountaineers working together in various expeditions sharing skills, knowledge and techniques of mountaineering and expanding mountaineering in the two countries.
“I believe continued cooperation between Nepali and Pakistani mountaineers will make a difference to both countries, making it the center of mountain and adventure tourism,” Ambassador Adhikari said.
Safqat Ali writes quoting Nepal Ambassador that the envoy also mentioned Pakistan with 220 million population was a big market of tourism and that every year a large number of people visit different countries from Pakistan.
The Ambassador took note of the fact that Pakistan, had rich cultural and religious heritage.
In Ambassador Adhikari’s own words on Pakistan, (sic), “It is the place where great religions and philosophy like Hinduism, Buddhism Sikhism and Sufism were established or flourished. There are Buddhists artifacts scattered across Taxila valley, Takhta-e-Bahi and in different areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and other part of Pakistan,” he said. Taxila, he said, used to be a center of learning and propagating Buddhism in different parts of the world. It showed that Buddhism had deeply rooted in these areas”.
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(With strong inputs from the News daily, Islamabad, Pakistan: Ed. Upadhyaya.