Ambassador of Nepal to the United Kingdom, Murari Raj Sharma, presented his Letters of Credence to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace amidst a ceremony on Tuesday.
Ambassador Sharma was accompanied by his wife Nila Adhikari, Deputy Chief of Mission Jhabindra P. Aryal, Military Attache’ Col. Himalaya Thapa as well as Attaches’ Ganesh Adhikari and Lawa Subedi. Present on the occasion were Permanent Under Secretary Peter Ricketts, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps Sir Anthony Figgis and other Royal and Foreign Office protocol officials.
At the Buckingham Palace, the Queen received them all in audience after ambassador Sharma presented his credentials, a press statement issued by the embassy said.
During the audience, ambassador Sharma conveyed the best wishes of Prime Minister G P Koirala to Her majesty and exchanged views on the matters of bilateral interests.
Earlier, ambassador Sharma, Mrs Sharma and Nepali officials were taken to the Buckingham Palace from the embassy of Nepal at 12 A Kensington Palace Gardens in two special horse-driven carriages escorted by the Vice-Marshal and returned to the embassy in the same manner, escorted by the Marshal, on completion of credential ceremony.
“It was a life time experience to visit the Buckingham Palace in horse-driven carriages on a shiny winter day,” said a Nepali member of the delegation. “Our journey took around half-an-hour and we enjoyed it thoroughly,” he added.
Ambassador Sharma hosted a reception at the embassy later in the evening inviting the heads of diplomatic missions based in London, representatives of various Nepali organizations based in UK, British organizations helping Nepal and the officials of Royal protocol, Foreign and Commonwealth Office as well as Defense Ministry and other friends of Nepal.
UK is a leading bilateral donor of Nepal assisting in the government’s poverty reduction programme, strengthening of democracy and supporting the on-going peace process in the country. Nepal established diplomatic relations with Britain in 1816. Relations between the two countries have been characterized by friendship, mutual understanding and respect for each other’s national interests and aspirations. The Treaty of Sugauli (1816) provided for the exchange of accredited Ministers to each other’s court. A new Treaty of Friendship between Great Britain and Nepal was signed and the status of British Representative in Kathmandu was upgraded to an Envoy.
In 1934 Nepal established a legation in London. In 1947, the status of these representatives was promoted to the level of Ambassadors, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, according to the Foreign Ministry of Nepal.
Born on 21 April 1926, Queen Elizabeth II is the world’s second-longest serving monarch alive, after Thai King Bhumibol Adulyadej. She has outlasted 11 prime ministers and is the first to have a prime minister, Tony Blair, born during her reign.
A popular institution rooted in history and usually referred to as a symbol of national unity, British monarchy costs only 62p per year for the British taxpayers, reports said. nepalnews.com Feb 13 08