Russia, Nepal seek to deepen ties with new military pact

Nov. 25 (UPI) -- Russia and Nepal have agreed to sign a defense cooperation deal and are also looking to expand their ties in aviation and energy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday.

Lavrov told reporters following a meeting with Nepalese Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali in Moscow the new agreement covered military and technological cooperation.

Specifically, the two sides said they were pleased with an earlier deal in which Russia delivered Mi-17 helicopters for use in Nepal's high-altitude, mountainous areas and were looking to expand that aviation relationship.

Lavrov and Gyawali also discussed expanding bilateral trade in traditional goods as well as a new level of energy cooperation.

"[There are] prospects of joint development of hydro-energy resources of Nepal," the Russian foreign minister said.