Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to maintain the UK’s diplomatic relationship with Nepal.

The UK and Nepal enjoy a warm and historic relationship that has been in place for over 200 years, underpinned by deep people-to-people connections through the important role of Gurkhas in the British Army and the contribution of the Nepalese diaspora in the UK. Building on the 2019 visit of PM Oli to the UK, recent months have seen significant levels of senior bilateral engagement on some of the most pressing international issues, including several Ministerial calls throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling the return of over 525 British Nationals stranded in Nepal by lockdown. In 2018/19 the UK invested over £80m in Nepal's development, including support to the healthcare sector, post-earthquake reconstruction, and security and justice reform. We were also honoured by the participation of Her Excellency President Bandhari in the Global Vaccine Summit last month. Finally, Nepal continues to be an important regional partner on climate issues as we prepare to host COP26.