State Minister for Foreign Affairs Md Shahriar Alam has said Bangladesh is committed to continuing its partnership with Nepal and will work to take it to a new height in the coming years. "We happily look back at the last fifty years of relationship," he said, adding that the two countries can work together to face the challenges of graduation from the group of the least developed countries (LDCs). The state minister was addressing a reception hosted by Charge d'Affaires at the Nepalese Embassy in Dhaka Kumar Rai at a city hotel Friday, marking the 50 years of diplomatic ties. Read: Dhaka renews call to Washington to lift Rab sanctions Bangladesh and Nepal established diplomatic relations on April 8, 1972. Shahriar said Nepal is one of the first few countries to recognise Bangladesh as a sovereign country and Bangladesh recognised 11 eminent personalities of Nepal including the incumbent foreign minister of Nepal as "Friends of Bangladesh" for their contribution to the country's cause in 1971. He noted that Bangladesh has been maintaining friendly relations with its neighbours guided by the philosophy of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman. The state minister expressed satisfaction with the recent growth of trade between Bangladesh and Nepal and called for concluding a preferential trade agreement to reap the untapped potential.

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. Read: 3rd Bangladesh, South Korea FOC to be held in Dhaka 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. Read: Dhaka calls for joint efforts to build smarter BIMSTEC 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.