Minister for Foreign Affairs Balananda Sharma attended the funeral of former prime minister of Bangladesh and Chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), Begum Khaleda Zia, on behalf of the Government of Nepal.
Zia’s funeral was held with state honors on Wednesday at Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in Dhaka.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Sharma paid floral tributes to the mortal remains of the late Zia on behalf of the Government of Nepal and met her son, Tarique Rahman – the acting chairperson of the BNP – at the funeral site to express condolences and sympathies.
Later in the afternoon, Minister Sharma paid a courtesy call on Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus, chief advisor of Bangladesh’s interim government. During the meeting, he formally handed over a condolence message sent by Prime Minister Sushila Karki.
PM Karki paid tribute to Zia, describing her role in strengthening Nepal–Bangladesh relations during her three terms in office as “unforgettable.”
During the meeting, discussions were also held on expanding cooperation between the two countries in areas such as bilateral relations, trade, energy, connectivity, tourism, and people-to-people exchanges.
Earlier, Minister Sharma also met Mohammad Touhid Hossain, adviser for foreign affairs to the interim government of Bangladesh, and handed over a personal condolence letter.
The Foreign Ministry said that Minister Sharma is scheduled to return to Kathmandu on Thursday afternoon.
