Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has said that the relevancy of Non Aligned Movement (NAM) is very much alive.

Addressing the 18th Mid-Term Ministerial Conference of the Non Aligned Movement in Baku, Azerbaijan, he emphasised the importance of sharing among the member nations the best practices and resources to deal with conflicts and achieve sustainable development while addressing the session. 

Gyawali is leading the Nepali delegation to conference, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Friday. As the vice-chair, Minister Gyawali also presided over a part of the afternoon session of the interactive dialogue on Friday. 

He also held several bilateral meetings. Minister Gyawali paid a courtesy call on President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and discussed the prospects of closer relations between Nepal and Azerbaijan on bilateral and multilateral fronts. 

On the sidelines of the conference, Minister Gyawali met with his counterparts from Azerbaijan Elmar Mammadyarov, who is also the chair of the ongoing NAM conference;  from Venezuela Jorge Arreaza Montserrat; and from Ecuador Maria Fernanda Espinosa.

 During these meetings, matters of mutual interests including the strengthening of solidarity among the NAM members were discussed. Foreign Minister Gyawali also held a bilateral meeting with Mevlüt Çavusoglu, minister of foreign affairs of the Republic of Turkey, during which views were exchanged on various areas of bilateral cooperation, including air connectivity, tourism, trade, hydropower and newly established Technology Bank for least developed countries (LDCs). Gyawali was accompanied by Nepali diplomats and officials from the foreign ministry