Nepal has requested Japan to fund at least a dozen projects during the ongoing visit of Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kano who arrived here on Wednesday on a two-day official visit.

During the delegation level talks led by Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali and Kano, the two sides exchanged note on memorandum of understanding on the revised air service agreement signed in Japan on June 8 last year and setting up a bilateral consultative mechanism between the two foreign ministries.

The new pact means Nepal Airlines Corporation can operate flights to Japanese cities. The corporation has planned to resume its operation in Japan by the end of Feburary after a decade.

Similarly, senior foreign ministry officials of Nepal and Japan will meet on regular basis after the formation of the bilateral consultative mechanism.

The two sides also discussed Japan’s announcement to take Nepali migrant workers in its job market and both sides have agreed to negotiate further in this respect.

The Nepali side invited Japanese Prime Minister Sinzho Abe to visit Nepal on his conducive dates, according to officials.

At the delegation level talks, the Nepali side requested the Japanese side to complete the housing project and build an earthquake museum, among others projects under the reconstruction. Nepal also requested Japanese help for construction of the East-West Railway and setting up a Public Service Broadcasting Service, sources said.

Also figured at the meeting were energy cooperation, tourism promotion, people-to-people contacts, providing scholarships to the deserving Nepali students particularly in the engineering sector.

Japanese Foreign Minister Kano assured Japan’s continued support in Nepal’s development endeavors.