At first glance, the commonalities between Israel and Nepal are not apparent. Yet, Israel and Nepal share more than meets the eye. Nepal and Israel are thousands of miles apart. Nepal is the land of birth place of Buddha whereas Bethlehem of Israel is known as the site of Jesus Christ’s birth.
Nepal is located in the snow-covered adventurous Himalaya ranges including Mt. Everest – the earth’s highest peak whereas Israel is a home to the lowest place on earth- the Dead Sea.
Israel and Nepal established full diplomatic relations in 1960. Nepal was among the first South Asian countries to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel on 1 June 1960. David Ben Gurion-the first Prime Minister of Israel and B.P. Koirala, the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Nepal was the head of the respective governments at that time.
As Nepal is a beautiful country endowed with unparalleled natural beauty and an opulent cultural heritage, the Land of Bible -Israel is also very rich to that regard mostly the archeology of secular Jews, Christians of different sects and creeds, Moslems and Bedouin who still live as in the time of Bible with thousands of years of history unearthed.
In Bethlehem, Jesus was born and nailed to death– Israel’s varied landscape and active culture where East meets West, past and presents touch, and ideologies mold a lifestyle with four thousand years of Jewish heritage over more than a century of Zionism.
Israel is rich from culturally important various Gates at Jerusalem which is a holy to Judaism, Christianity and Islam to religiously important Church of Holy Sepulchre, Tomb of Jesus, Western Wall, Dome of Rock mosques, modern taste of Tel-Aviv to Haifa where the city’s landscape is dominated by the gold plated Dome of the Bahai Temple set in formal Persian Gardens were also the places where the international media people magnetized fully without blinking their eyes to be remembered, besides the Dead Sea.
The lowest point on earth-the Dead Sea is a salt lake located in eastern Israel is known worldwide as a largest spa in the world, drawing tourists and extreme sports fans. The Dead Sea’s hyper salinity provides a unique floating experience and the health benefits of the minerals found in its water and muds are immense. It is a breathtakingly beautiful area which includes wadis, cliffs and an extraordinary zoological and botanical population.
The Dead Sea and the surrounding area have great religious and historic significance and represent a turbulent chapter in the history of Israel. The quantity of water that evaporates from it is greater than that which flows into it, such that this body of water has the highest concentration of salt in the world (340 grams per liter of water).
It is called the Dead Sea because its salinity prevents the existence of any life forms in the lake. That same salt, on the other hand, provides tremendous relief to the many ailing visitors who come here on a regular basis to benefit from its healing properties. All these and more make the Dead Sea so fascinating, so different and so interesting.
The Dead Sea can also be called “the lowest health spa in the world.” Sea salts are produced from the southern section for industry, and in the northern section promote tourism and good health. The composition of the salts and minerals in the water are what make it so unique and beneficial for the body. Thus making the Dead Sea a provider for good health and healing for vacationers from all over the world.
In the Dead Sea, any living creature or plant (even seaweed) that dares enter these saline-charged waters dies pretty much instantly. Animal or plant life is impossible. Hence, its name Dead Sea, only simple organisms like microbes can survive the harsh conditions. The Dead Sea is simply too salty for anything else to exist.
Immediately after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Israel and Nepal, Israel opened her Embassy in Kathmandu in March 1961 whereas Nepal opened the Nepalese Honorary Consulate General in Israel in 1993. But finally Nepal set up its Embassy in Tel Aviv on August 13, 2007.
The bilateral relations, marked by mutual cooperation, goodwill, understanding and friendship have expanded in various developmental and cooperation areas.
Bilateral cooperation has developed in various fields of endeavor, including education, agriculture, health, and the economy. Under the sponsorship of MASHAV (Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation) and through other channels, Nepal government officials and other professionals from various areas of Nepal have visited Israel for study tours as well as for various training programs. Thousands of Nepali students have received training in-country and scholarships for studies in Israel as well.
Successful ongoing collaboration in the fields of agriculture, have trained huge numbers of Nepali trainees that have participated in the program and have experienced training in Israel.
Those trainees after returning home country–Nepal are introduced to modern methods of irrigation; growing vegetables, fruits, and flowers, and livestock breeding by means of computers and advanced technologies in cooperation with Israeli farmers.
Cooperation
In the aftermath of the earthquake, assistance from the people of Israel and its government came into Nepal is worthy and trusty. Israel extended valuable cooperation to Nepal in various developmental fields.
Israel has become one of the favorite destinations for Nepali youths, particularly female workers, to seek foreign employment. There are small numbers of Nepalese youths working in Israel in care giving and agriculture sectors. However, to boost the employment area perfectly, Nepal and Israel have already signed a G2G agreement to recruit Nepali employees in Israel.
Many Israelis visit Nepal every year for its friendly people, natural beauty and wonders. Nepal’s adventurous touristic sites of Himalayan ranges and the friendly people based tourist trail are most popular among the Israelis backpackers who come for refresh especially after completing their army service. Even though trade figures remained extremely in favor of Israel.
Historically, September 4, 2012 is the second remarkable day to be remembered after June 1, 1960 in the history of Nepal and Israel. On that day, two of the world’s most famous geographical wonders –one in Nepal and the other in Israel celebrated together by releasing a joint postal stamp depicting a picture of highest and the lowest places on earth – Nepal’s snow covered Mount Everest (8848.5 meters high) and Israel’s mineral-rich Dead Sea (-430 meters below) at the same time in Kathmandu and Jerusalem commemorating the completion of Diamond Jubilee years of diplomatic relations between two countries that attract scores of visitors from across the globe juxtapose the Israeli and Nepal’s flags and has Hebrew, Nepali, Arabic and English writing on it.
Six Decade’s Meet
The seminar organized the other day in Kathmandu by the Embassy of Israel in Nepal to commemorate the six decades of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries have also nurtured a strong bond of friendship.
At the seminar Israeli Ambassador praised many things but alas! raised some points which are to be considerable for Nepal’s foreign policy.
As the Foreign Minister of Nepal himself was the chief guest at the function it can be hoped that the Minister has taken those “points” into a reference for the future to accommodate all the issues to be raised in the international forum as “friendliness.”
The friendly ties and cooperation existed between Nepal and Israel has always been strengthened and wide. Thus, both the countries are enjoying warm and cordial ties based on deep friendship, generous commitment, goodwill and mutual understanding.
The exchange visits of high level officials from both the side and other exchange of visits in different levels have been instrumental in enhancing the cordial relations and widening understanding between the people of both the countries.
