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Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali hd a telephonic conversation with US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and discussed bilateral cooperation including the Covid situation in Nepal.
During the call, the two sides agreed to enhance bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the areas of mutual interest. They expressed satisfaction over the overall state of US-Nepal relations.
The US has assured Gyawali of the US' continued economic assistance for the post-Covid economic recovery. Gyawali also thanked the US for its generous assistance to Nepal in its fight against the Covid-19.
Nepal also raised the issue of vaccines with the US and sought priority distribution of vaccines from the US buffer stock. Last week, the United States had announced that it would share 60 million of its excess vaccines with developing countries around the world.
For weeks now Kathmandu has been struggling to procure second doses of vaccines for its people. The Serum Institute of India, with which it had earlier signed an agreement for vaccines, failed to deliver vaccines on time.
Appreciating the friendship the two countries have enjoyed over the decades, Sherman hoped that key projects in the pipeline under US cooperation would open up further avenues of prosperity for Nepal.
During the conversation, both countries also shared their commitment to work together on climate action, particularly in the context of Nepal's bid to hold Sagarmatha Sambaad - a global dialogue forum initiated by Kathmandu - in October.