By Lee Kap-soo

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in New York for the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held his first summit with Nepal's Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on the afternoon of September 21, the first since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1974.

During the meeting, President Yoon requested Nepal's support for the 2030 Busan World Expo and exchanged views on the development of bilateral relations.

President Yoon noted that Korean companies are actively participating in the expansion of Nepal's infrastructure through power plants, sewage treatment facilities, and road design and supervision projects, and called for the establishment of a legal and institutional framework so that Korean investment in Nepal can continue to expand.

In addition, President Yoon said that Nepal has been selected as Korea's priority ODA partner for 15 consecutive years, and the Korean government has supported the construction of the Korea-Nepal Friendship Hospital and the establishment of the Cyber Security Bureau of the National Police Agency, and will continue to contribute to the economic and social development of Nepal through continuous discovery of new projects.

Prime Minister Dahal expressed his appreciation that Korea has been an important development partner of Nepal for a long time and has helped Nepal in economic development, education, and human resource development, and said that Nepal would like to enhance tourism cooperation with Korea and strengthen cooperation in multilateral diplomatic fora such as the United Nations.

The two leaders agreed to further deepen bilateral cooperation in various fields, including the economy, agriculture, employment, and people-to-people exchanges, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year.