Newly appointed EU envoy presents credentials to President Bhandari

KATHMANDU, Sept 27: Newly appointed Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Nepal, Nona Deprez, presented her credentials to President Bidya Devi Bhandari, on Sunday. 

At a function held at the President’s Office, Ambassador Nona presented her credentials to President Bhandari.

“I am extremely honoured and happy to take up my duties as the EU Ambassador to Nepal and look forward to discover the country, to meet the Nepalese and to work closely with all Nepali institutions, civil society, private sector, media, international partners and all relevant political, social and economic stakeholders,” Ambassador Deprez has been quoted in a press release issued by the Delegation of the European Union to Nepal on Sunday evening.

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Nepal and the EU have developed more than four decades of diplomatic and friendly relations, the ambassador said. She also stressed the need to work jointly on global issues in the wake of new challenges such as pandemics, climate change and threat to multilateralism has become an urgency.

The EU has been a reliable development partner and one of the biggest donors to Nepal for around half a century.

In the press release, Delegation of the European Union to Nepal said that EU has been cooperating on three priorities agreed with the Government of Nepal: rural development, education and finally democracy and decentralization.

Furthermore, the EU supports Nepal in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, in graduating from LDC status and in improving Nepal’s resilience to the adverse effects of climate change, the Delegation of the European Union to Nepal stated. The total assistance for the current programming cycle, 2014-2020, amounts for EURO 360 million, around Rs 50 billion.

When the COVID crisis hit Nepal, the European Union provided immediate response in mobilizing a package of EURO 75 million (Rs 10 billion). This support was closely coordinated with the EU Member States working as one in a streamlined “Team Europe Initiative”. More globally, the EU helped raise EURO 16 billion to finance research on vaccines, tests and treatments for the whole world.