KATHMANDU: Speaker of the House of Representatives Dol Prasad (DP) Aryal held a courtesy meeting with Nepal’s Ambassador to Australia Simon Ernst on Tuesday, discussing Nepal-Australia relations, parliamentary cooperation, people-to-people ties and areas of mutual interest.

The meeting was held at the Speaker’s office at the Federal Parliament. Speaker Aryal informed Ambassador Ernst that the Federal Parliament has formed a Nepal-Australia Parliamentary Friendship Group. He stressed the need to make the group more effective by promoting regular exchanges and institutional engagement between lawmakers from the two countries.

Aryal said the parliamentary friendship group could play an important role in expanding cooperation in areas of shared interest and strengthening mutual understanding between Nepal and Australia.

He also appreciated Australia’s longstanding support for Nepal’s socio-economic development and expressed gratitude for its contribution to human resource development through initiatives including Australia Awards scholarships, capacity-building programs and training opportunities.

Highlighting people-to-people relations as an important foundation of bilateral ties, Aryal said Australia has become a major destination for Nepali students pursuing higher education.

He noted that Nepali students studying in Australia and the Nepali community residing there have been playing an important role in further strengthening relations between the two countries.

Aryal also conveyed his greetings and best wishes to Milton Dick, Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives, through Ambassador Ernst.

During the meeting, Ambassador Ernst said parliamentary cooperation and people-to-people ties would continue to play an important role in further strengthening Nepal-Australia relations.

He expressed his commitment to continuing efforts to expand cooperation between the two countries in areas including education, human resource development and parliamentary engagement.