Ghana has officially established diplomatic ties with Nepal.

A communique to that effect was signed by Ghana's Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration Minister, Ms Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and her Nepalese counterpart, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali in New York on the sidelines of the 74th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly.

After the signing of the joint communiqué on the establishment of formal diplomatic relations, Ms Botchwey observed that the formation of diplomatic relations marked the beginning of an important chapter in the bilateral relations between the two countries.

She indicated that as members of the United Nations, Ghana and Nepal subscribe to common values and principles which make the decision to establish formal bilateral relations very necessary.

According Ghanaian minister, the establishment of formal relations with Nepal will afford the two countries the opportunity to cooperate effectively at the multilateral level on matters of mutual interest such as the implementation of the Agenda 2030 on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), issues of climate, reform of the UN, the promotion of international peace and security, and fair international trade.

Furthermore, she noted that the signing of the communique also provides opportunities for strong and sustained bilateral cooperation between Ghana and Nepal in varied areas and sectors, including agriculture and agro-processing, textiles, the extractive industry, manufacturing and tourism.

Ms Botchwey added that Africa represents the future of global trade and investment because of its natural resource endowment, the huge potentials of its human resource, its impressive economic growth and its expanding market size, especially the rising middle class.

She cited the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area and its potential to propel the continent’s growth and development to buttress her point.

She, therefore, invited Nepal and its neighbouring friends and partners to look to Africa and Ghana in their search for new partners.

She indicated that Ghana was looking forward to building a genuine friendship and partnership with Nepal and expressed confidence that both sides will work diligently at achieving the objectives of the day.