South-Asian Parliamentary Delegation from the German Bundestag, the German House of Representatives, is on a four-day official visit to Nepal from February 19-22. The six-member parliamentary delegation comprises of parliamentarian Renate Künast, Andreas Larem, Paul Lehrieder, Ria Schröder, Dr Malte Kaufmann and Dr André Hahn, read a statement issued by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Kathmandu. “This visit after the pandemic will further strengthen parliamentary relations between Nepal and Germany, contributing to the long-standing bilateral friendship and cooperation that has lasted for more than 60 years,” Renate Künast, head of the delegation.

The delegation will discuss a wide range of topics, including economic transformation of Nepal, tourism promotion, Nepal’s peace process and human rights, women empowerment, rules-based international order, agriculture and regional cooperation as well as German-Nepali development cooperation, the statement read.

The members of the delegation called on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Speaker of the House of Representative Devraj Ghimire, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, Minister for Agriculture and Livestock Development Jwala Kumari Sah and Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal. The German parliamentary delegation also had an interaction with the members of the Federal Parliament of Nepal. Besides the official meetings, the parliamentary delegation will also have an interaction with representatives of German Development Cooperation, German NGOs working in Nepal and human rights organizations. The Delegation also plans to visit ICIMOD Knowledge Park, Nepal Vocational Academy and the Nepal Secretariat of Skills and Training (NSST), the statement further read. A visit to the rich cultural heritage of Bhaktapur and Bauddhanath is also planned during the four-day visit to Nepal.