KATHMANDU, June 26: Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is set to lead the Nepali delegation on an official visit to Spain this coming Saturday. During his official visit, he will participate in the “Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development,” scheduled to be held from June 30 to July 3 in Spain.
According to Nepali Ambassador to Spain Shanil Nepal, all preparations for the official visit have been completed, and the Nepali community in Spain is eagerly and enthusiastically awaiting the PM’s arrival.
During the visit, PM Oli will hold bilateral meetings with his Spanish counterpart. On that occasion, Nepal and Spain will sign a memorandum of understanding on some important matters related to cooperation and the expansion of bilateral relations.
The PM will also interact with the Nepali community and Spanish entrepreneurs and industrialists during the visit. The embassy has informed that other important bilateral meetings are also scheduled during the conference.
Spain is a Western European country with a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. It spans an area of approximately 505,990 square kilometers and has a population of around 47.4 million.
Spain has approximately 20,000 football clubs and over one million registered players, including both small and large clubs. In terms of language, Spanish is the fourth most widely spoken language in the world.
Nepal-Spain Diplomatic Relations
Although Nepal and Spain established diplomatic relations on May 13, 1968. Nepal established a residential embassy in Spain in 2018. Since Spain does not have an embassy in Nepal, the Spanish embassy in New Delhi currently oversees matters related to Nepal. It is estimated that around 20,000 Nepalis are engaged in various professions and businesses in Spain, primarily in the agriculture, hospitality, tourism, and construction sectors.
Nepal and Spain have maintained a tradition of high-level visits over the years. The late King Birendra Shah visited Spain in 1983, and King Carlos of Spain paid a four-day state visit to Nepal in 1987.
Former PM Pushpa Kamal Dahal participated in a high-level dialogue in Spain in 2016 on trafficking in persons during conflict. Similarly, in 2019, the then Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Gokul Baskota, participated in the ministerial-level GSMA event hosted in Spain.
Former President Bidya Devi Bhandari visited Spain in 2021. On that occasion, Nepal and Spain agreed to cooperate in the fields of climate change and tourism.
Spain is emerging as a new foreign employment destination for Nepalis. It has long been recognized as a major tourist destination globally, with tourism being one of the main pillars of its economy.