Civil Aviation Minister Yogesh Bhattarai has urged the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to invest in Nepal’s tourism and aviation industry.
In a meeting today, Yogesh Bhattarai, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation, and Saeed Hamdan Al Naqbi, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates ( UAE), Bhattarai recommended the government of the UAE, including entrepreneurs to invest in the aviation industry of Nepal.
Minister Bhattarai thanked the UAE government’s cooperation on the flights of Nepali people who decided to come back from the UAE during COVID 19 and further demanded continuous assistance in the coming days.
Ambassador Naqbi suggested Nepal for the addition of more flights on the Kathmandu-UAE route. Minister Bhattarai has told that a significant decision will be taken shortly for addition for more flights in Kathmandu- UAE routes.
However, the UAE is one of Nepal Airlines’ oldest destinations; it has halted its services for a specific time. There were around 60 flights per week to Nepal flown by three UAE-based airlines, Etihad, Fly Dubai, and Air Arabia. About 170 departures a week among Nepal and the UAE, including passengers traveling more than 1 million annually. Nepal Airlines resumed its daily flights from August 2016 and Himalayan Airlines’ flying UAE since April 2017 has undoubtedly acted as a boost to Nepal’s tourism promotion.
Nepal has an Air Service agreement initiated in 1999, which was revised for the first time in 2007 following another amended in 2013 and 2019.
