I am standing here in this day marking 62 years of our diplomatic relations. An event that happened because of the decision of our two leaders: David Ben Gurion the first Prime Minister of Israel and BP Koirala the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Nepal.

At that time, Nepal was the first, and for 30 years the only country from this region to have full relations with the state of Israel Israel will never forget and will always appreciate this friendship! I come here often to visit this place, to touch the walls, to look at the rooms, to remember and to appreciate the heroic struggle for democracy.

Israel and Nepal share many common things: It varies from tolerance to diversity, from natural treasures to cultural richness. I want like to use this opportunity and to mention here also the democratic values that are common to both our nations. Dear Friends, Even today our world is not perfect. Unfortunately, only half of our world enjoys democracy. I am so glad to note that both our nations belong to this half that practices democracy. There is no better place than this Museum to remember and mention this: democracy is not a perfect system of ruling but is defiantly better than any other system.

We should protect it, adjust it and never take it for granted. We should always remember what is the alternative to democracy: Failing to protect these values will lead to tyranny or anarchy. None of us would choose any of these two options. While here I sometime close my eyes and try to imagine how things look when this was a prison, a prison of disrespect to a clear message of millions of Nepali voters. But, let’s remember BP's great spirit: While staying here for seven long years, without any trial, BP wrote a book His novel “Hitler Ra Yahudi”. This was a literature breakthrough using the tool of writing a travel diary to describe a journey that starts with a sailing ship in Mumbai and ends in… Israel! The characters he meets, the Jewish immigrants he watches, his dreams and the shaking dialogue between Hitler and god are worth reading for any Nepali, Israeli or any person from any other nation I ask myself what brings a man, a leader, while spending years in prison, to write on such a topic and I think that this book gives a strong message of hope: If the Jews that suffered so badly reached their promised land, a "promised land" will be there also for the Nepali people.

BP was right. We see his vision come true every day in the political life in Israel and in Nepal. Let me use this opportunity and say a few words about the friendship between our two nations: It all starts when we look at ourselves in the mirror and try to identify and determine who we are: We see ourselves, Nepalese and Israelis as part of small entities, small cultures, surrounded by big neighbors. Our identity is important for us and we will do any possible action to keep, preserve and protect it. We are small but proud nations that are proud of what we are and who we are. We are proud of our languages and of our culture, we cherish our natural treasures as much as much of our society diversity, tolerance and respect are a leading asset in our list of values. From here will come all other explanations of the intimate close relations and mutual understanding.

Hanan Goder is the ambassador of Israel to Nepal. Excerpts of his statement delivered at the program jointly organized by The Embassy of Israel and B.P. Museum Committee on “Interaction Program: B.P. Koirala and Nepal-Israel Relations” at The B.P. Memorial Museum, Sundarijal to celebrate 62 years of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Israel.