KATHMANDU, Jan 27: Nepal and Uzbekistan entered into the formal diplomatic ties today. It marks the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations of Nepal with 158 countries around the world, including all nations from Central Asia.

The Permanent Representatives of Nepal and Uzbekistan to the United Nations, Ambassadors Mr. Durga Prasad Bhattarai and Mr. Bakhtiyor Ibragimov respectively, signed a Joint Communiqué to this effect in New York this morning, together with a joint letter informing the United Nations Secretary-General about this development.

On the occasion, the two Ambassadors acknowledged that Nepal and Uzbekistan are already working closely at the United Nations and other multilateral forums, including as fellow members of the Group of Landlocked Developing Countries as well as the Non-Aligned Movement. They also shared views on further widening and deepening bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the days ahead.

A double-landlocked country of about 32 million people, Uzbekistan is known for having the world's fourth largest gold deposits as well as rich oil and gas reserves. It is the largest electricity producer and a major cotton producer in the region. It possesses diverse cultural heritages with cities like Bukhara and Samarkand that flourished from old Silk Road trade. Its capital city is Tashkent.

A former Soviet Republic, Uzbekistan joined the United Nations on 2 March 1992 and is today a secular, unitary constitutional republic.

 
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