KATHMANDU: Australia’s Ambassador to Nepal, Simon Ernst, today paid a courtesy call on Minister for Women, Children, Gender and Sexual Minorities, and Social Security Sita Badi.

During the meeting, they both stressed the need for further strengthening Nepal-Australia friendly relations, and making it further productive.

The two also exchanged views on various issues concerning women empowerment, child rights and protection, disability inclusion, social security, care economy, human resource development and exchange of policy experiences.

Stating that Nepal and Australia have been enjoying the friendly and cordial diplomatic relations since the establishment, the Minister stressed the need for making bilateral cooperation further productive in the days to come.

She also thanked Australia for its cooperation in Nepal’s education, human development, good governance, gender equality and social inclusion.

Similarly, the Minister acknowledged the role of Australian scholarship program in the enhancement of the knowledge, skills, and professional capabilities of Nepali students, researchers, professionals in various fields, and government employees.

“Such programme has also resulted in a positive impact on policy formulation, implementation, and public service delivery,” the Minister added.

Likewise, highlighting interconnections between social security and care economy, the Minister pressed the need for recognizing and proportionately valuing women’s contribution to economy through household responsibilities and care economy.

She stressed that Nepal-Australia relations should, in the coming days, go beyond development cooperation and evolve in to a mutually beneficial partnership encompassing technology and policy experience sharing, institutional capacity development, and the further expansion of people-to-people relations.

During the meeting, Ambassador Ernst expressed his positive view on making cooperation more effective in areas of mutual interest and priority, while underscoring the significance of existing cooperation between Nepal and Australia.