KATHMANDU: Israeli Ambassador to Nepal Shmulik Arie Bass and Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Mahabir Pun held talks on Wednesday on expanding bilateral cooperation in science, technology, education, and innovation.

According to the Israeli Embassy, the two discussed the pending bilateral agreement on culture, education, science, and sports, as well as the need to allocate funding for research and development (R&D) in the national budget to help create a stronger information technology ecosystem.

They also exchanged views on Minister Pun’s vision of establishing innovation centers at selected universities to promote research, technology, and innovation.