Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Tavio to visit Nepal

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will visit Nepal on 25–28 November.

The visit aims to promote the diversification of the relations between Finland and Nepal and openings for cooperation to enhance the commercial and economic relations between the countries. Minister will also visit some of the development cooperation projects that Finland supports in the country. The Minister will be accompanied by a delegation of Finnish entities that combine development cooperation and international business activities.

The Minister will visit UN Women’s projects that focus on promoting women’s economic independence and supporting female entrepreneurship. Finland is UN Women’s partner and most important donor in Nepal.

“Finland has supported Nepal’s development for a long time, and Nepal is one of Finland’s key partners in development cooperation. We have achieved significant results through cooperation: children’s reading performance has improved, more than two million Nepalese have access to clean drinking water and we have supported women’s employment. In addition, Finland is responsible for projects delegated by the EU in the education and natural resources sectors, which has further increased the effectiveness of our efforts,” Minister Tavio says.

The new, five-year joint project between the EU, Finland and Nepal for the education sector, TECSES (Technical Support Cooperation to School Education Sector in Nepal), will be launched during the visit. The project is focused on developing teacher education. The Minister will also visit a municipal school in Katmandu. Finland has cooperated with Nepal in the education sector for over 25 years, and several cooperation projects are underway.

During his visit, Minister Tavio will meet private sector representatives and key figures from Nepal’s state administration. Impact investor Finnfund’s new investment in the Nepalese telecommunications sector will be announced during the visit. The programme also includes a celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Finland and Nepal.