Bangladesh and Nepal have underlined the necessity of intensifying the bilateral relations including exchange of high level visits as the two countries are celebrating 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen had a bilateral meeting with his Nepalese counterpart Dr. Narayan Khadka on the sidelines of the 18th BIMSTEC ministerial meeting in Sri Lanka's capital on Tuesday and discussed the areas of cooperation.

The two foreign ministers committed to work together for common modalities to adapt to the graduation from LDC, Secretary (East) Mashfee Binte Shams told UNB after the meeting.

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Cooperation in the power and energy sector, enhancement of trade and investment, connectivity, people to people contacts and  cooperation in the area of climate change were also discussed with due importance.

Momen appreciated the unwavering support received from the people and political leadership of Nepal during the Liberation War of Bangladesh.

The Nepalese foreign minister appreciated the Bangladesh government for hosting a large number of Nepalese students for various undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

Foreign minister Momen sought Nepal's support for early repatriation of forcibly displaced Myanmar nationals to their home country.

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Bangladesh is now hosting over 1.1 million Rohingyas in Cox’s Bazar district and Bhasan Char.

The two foreign ministers pledged to cooperate with each other in various regional and multilateral forums.

The foreign minister is currently in Colombo to attend the BIMSTEC Summit scheduled for Wednesday in which Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will be joining virtually from Dhaka.

Minister Momen led the Bangladesh delegation at the 18th BIMSTEC ministerial meeting held on Tuesday.