Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa has congratulated Foreign Minister Bimala Rai Paudyal on her appointment.

Japanese Ambassador to Nepal Kikuta Yutaka handed over the congratulatory letter to Minister Paudyal during a courtesy call at the latter’s office in Singha Durbar on Wednesday.

The Japanese Embassy in Kathmandu in a statement said envoy Kikuta expressed his best wishes for the success of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Foreign Minister Paudyal.

Ambassador Kikuta said Japan has been working with Nepal as a long-term friendly development partner and would continue to assist the country’s challenge to deal with socio-economic development, reads the statement.

The foreign minister and the envoy shared the views to cooperate further to expand the bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as working in multilateral fora.

Ambassador Kikuta emphasised the amicable bilateral relationship between Japan and Nepal and expressed his wish to further deepen the friendship by promoting the people-to-people exchange, according to the embassy.