Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Sherpa of Nepal have had a special relationship since they climbed the highest peak, Mount Everest, in 1953.
New Zealand Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Winston Peters is coming to Kathmandu on Wednesday for an official visit to Nepal. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he will be in Kathmandu for two days on May 14 and 15.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, this is the first high-level political visit from New Zealand. Spokesperson of the Ministry, Joint Secretary Krishna Dhakal said that the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of New Zealand is going to have a friendly official visit.
After visiting Sri Lanka, Peters is about to come to Nepal. He will come to Kathmandu on Wednesday afternoon and have a courtesy meeting with President Ramchandra Paudel and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli. He is scheduled to meet the Chairman of the opposition party Maoist Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Wednesday. The Ministry has informed that there will be a bilateral meeting with Foreign Minister Arju Rana Deuba in the evening.
According to Dhakal, the spokesperson of the ministry, the then Foreign Minister NP Saud visited New Zealand last year. The two countries have a friendly and historic relationship. "Bilateral visits have been exchanged to increase relations and cooperation," he said, adding that it is believed that such visits will strengthen the relationship between the two countries. "Engagement" between the two countries has been increasing recently. 1200 students from Nepal are studying in New Zealand. Similarly, the number of Nepalese living there for business and going for employment is also increasing.
The New Zealand government has been supporting the development of the Himalayan region in the areas of education and health. Since Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Sherpa of Nepal first climbed the world's highest peak Mount Everest in 1953, there has been a special relationship between Nepal and New Zealand. Similarly, New Zealand also assisted in the relief work after the devastating earthquake of 2072. Both countries do not have embassies in each other. The embassy of New Zealand in Delhi has been looking at Nepal.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Peters is scheduled to go to Lukla on Thursday morning and after his return, he will visit Kathmandu's world heritage sites. Peters will fly to Delhi on Thursday evening.
