KATHMANDU, March 21: Prince Harry of Wales has expressed his hope that more people will visit to Nepal to experience a truly captivating country.
Addressing at the Nepal Bicentennial Reception in London on Monday night (Nepali time), Prince Harry shared his experience of visiting Nepal exactly a year ago.
"I experienced first-hand the true meaning of Nepal's slogan 'I am in Nepal Now'. The warmth of the welcome and hospitality from everyone I met, particularly from Mrs Mangali Tamang and her family, who I stayed with in Lorani, is something that I will never forget," said Prince Harry.
"I will also never forget the views across the Annapurna mountain range from Lorani or the beautiful wildernesses of Bardia National Park. The conservation efforts in Bardia are an example to the rest of the world of how the conservation battle can be won, through empowering communities to live and feed off the park – not from the park. Nepal is a truly captivating county and one which I hope more people will visit to experience for themselves," he added.
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Kensington Palace, later, on its official twitter handle posted the address, which Prince Harry made in the reception, and also thanked Embassy of Nepal for the event organized to mark 200 years of Nepal-UK relations.
Attending the reception on behalf of the Queen, Prince Harry said he was pleased too see effective disaster response measures in Nepal after the devastating earthquake.
"Reconstruction and building back more resiliently from such a disaster can take a long time. But I saw first-hand the unbreakable spirit and resilience of the Nepali people as they set about it – I hope you and they can continue to draw comfort from the fact the British people stand with you on that journey," said Harry addressing the reception .
He also applauded Nepal's commitment to empowering girls and young women.
"I was delighted to have the opportunity of joining President Bhandari for the opening of the joint Girl’s Summit. I have been encouraged to hear that so much has been done over the past year to raise awareness about child marriage and gender-based violence. I look forward to keeping up with Nepal's progressive work to empower women and girls, the example you set is one that others will draw inspiration from," said the Prince.
On the occasion, Prince Harry said how important Gurkhas mean to the UK Royal family. "Last week, I joined my Father in presenting operational service medals to officers and men from 2nd Battalion of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, some of whom are with us here today. My father spoke of how important his 40 year association to the Gurkhas is to him. Even though my association hasn’t been quite as long, I also draw a great deal of pride and joy from my association with the Gurkhas," said the Prince.
"Your courage, selfless dedication and professionalism are legendary; but your warmth and hospitality in welcoming me as a fellow soldier and friend means a great deal to me personally," he added.
Minister for Industry Nabindra Raj Joshi and Nepali Ambassador to the UK Durga Bahadur Subedi welcomed Prince Harry to the reception organized by Nepali Embassy in London to mark 200 years of friendship and cooperation between Nepal and the United Kingdom.
