The Embassy of Israel in Kathmandu marked the 64th Independence Day of The State of Israel on Thursday.

A gathering organized at Hyatt Hotel, Kathmandu, saw high ranked Nepali government officials and diplomats together to celebrate the event.  The chief guest for the event was Vice President Parmananda Jha.

Speaking during the occasion, the Israeli Ambassador to Nepal, Hanan Goder said, "The long friendship between Nepal and Israel will last long into the future.  The two nations may be far in geography but are close in their hearts".

The State of Israel declared independence on 14 May 1948 after fighting for almost two millennia for a separate state.  Israel is the Jews realization of their dream homeland.

A national holiday is observed every year in Israel and Israelis, Jews and friends gather together to celebrate this important date.

Nepal was among the first few bold countries to establish diplomatic relations with Israel already in 1961.  This year, the diplomatic relations between Israel and Nepal marks the completion of 51 years of fruitful cooperation.

Since its independence, Israel has seen many developments especially in the fields of beyond imaginative agriculture, technological advancements and medical breakthroughs.

Last year, under the Independence Day theme "Social Responsibility", The Embassy launched a Public Health Program, first phase, to mark the 63rd Independence Day of The State of Israel.  The Embassy, instead of spending the fund used for its annual Independence Day gathering, had donated the amount to initiate a joint public health program at Dhulikhel Hospital with the cooperation of Hadassah Hospital in Israel. In the same year, Public Health, second phase, was also launched at the Dhulikhel Hospital.  This year too, a part of the Independence Day fund will be used to give continuity to the public health program. nepalnews.com