"We hope that the appointment of Sher Bahadur Deuba as Prime Minister of Nepal will bring political stability to the country. The initiative already taken to establish a dialogue with the Maoists has our full support", says the Norwegian Foreign Minister, Thorbjørn Jagland.

"Nepal is one of Norway’s main development partners, and co-operation in areas of primary education, drinking water, hydropower development and human rights is already well established" says Jagland.

"We hope that the new Prime Minister and Cabinet will give priority to strengthen the country’s pro-poor policy, good governance, human rights, and democracy. We look forward to a continued and strengthened co-operation between our two countries on this basis", adds the Norwegian Foreign Minister.