ISLAMABAD, Tuesday, August 19, 2025 (WNP): Pakistan and Nepal on Tuesday pledged to deepen cooperation on gender development, women empowerment, and climate resilience as a delegation of Nepali women parliamentarians visited the Institute of Regional Studies (IRS) in Islamabad.

Welcoming the delegation, IRS President Ambassador Jauhar Saleem stressed the importance of translating the long-standing cordial ties between the two countries into tangible collaboration. He highlighted gender development, climate change, and educational and cultural exchanges as priority areas for joint initiatives.

Ambassador Saleem also proposed that the existing 50 percent scholarship quota for Nepali students be dedicated exclusively to female students, saying the step would significantly strengthen women’s empowerment in the region.

Delegation Head Nagina Yadav, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress Party, outlined Nepal’s progress and challenges in gender development. She praised Pakistan’s women empowerment initiatives and expressed strong interest in forging concrete collaboration.

Supporting her, Puja Chaudhary of the Janata Samajbadi Party Nepal emphasized the potential for creating targeted working groups on business, education, culture, climate, and direct people-to-people exchanges. Other members of the delegation included Sarita Bhusal of the Communist Party of Nepal (UML) and Dalit rights activist Gaura Nepali, chairperson of the Centre for Dalit Women Nepal (CDWN).

Felix Kolbitz, Country Director of Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) Pakistan, noted climate change as a particularly promising area of collaboration, citing the shared vulnerabilities of Pakistan and Nepal. His counterpart in Nepal, Natalia Figge, underscored the need for frequent exchanges to accelerate progress on gender parity.

The interactive session concluded with a Q&A, generating several actionable proposals aimed at strengthening cooperation between Pakistan and Nepal in women empowerment and climate resilience.