Kathmandu, Mar. 11: Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Gyanendra Bahadur Karki, has said that the incumbent government has put freedom of expression as a top priority.

At a press conference organised at the Ministry today to release the decisions of the cabinet meeting held on March 10, Minister Karki shared that the government was effortful to establish Nepal as the leading nation in South Asia in terms of freedom of expression.

Responding to a query of media persons, he clarified that the government has tried to make youtube more systematic and disciplined by introducing new provisions, not to curtail its freedom of expression.

The Communications Minister opined, "We want to build a beautiful and civilized society." He further said that the incumbent government would not bring any laws curtailing the freedom of expression, stating that the laws brought in the past would be revised as per the need.

Minister Karki shared that government-level visits are going to be held in different countries to make the country renowned across the world, to disseminate the message that the government is working in favour of the people as well as to gather necessary cooperation.

The meeting decided to approve the visit participation of a Nepali delegation led by Secretary of the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs, Udayraj Sapkota, in the fourth session of the Inter-Governmental Conference under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction taking place at New York of USA from March 7-18.

Similarly, the meeting decided to endorse the participation of a Nepali delegation led by the Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development in the 36th Session of the FAO Regional Conference on Asia and Pacific held in Dhaka of Bangladesh on March 8-11.

Likewise, the Cabinet has formed a high-level delegation headed by the Foreign Minister for bilateral talks during an upcoming Nepal visit by Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister on March 14-15, according to the Government Spokesperson.

As the Minister said, the draft of the General Cooperation Agreement between the governments of Nepal and Saudi Arabia has been passed and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been given the authority to sign the document on behalf of the government.

Additionally, the meeting has permitted secretary, Dr Narayan Kandel, to attend the Government Consultation on the Stockholm + 50: LDC Engagement Strategy Preparatory meeting scheduled to be held on coming March 28 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, USA.

Besides, the meeting decided to give permission to a delegation led by Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security, Krishna Kumar Shrestha, to visit the United Arab Emirates, Seychelles and Qatar.