Kathmandu, 14 August:  Vice President Nanda Bahadur  attended a reception hosted here today on the occasion of 75th Independence Day of Pakistan. Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security, Sher Bahadur Kunwar, while addressing the event, which was jointly organized by the Pakistani Embassy and the Nepal-Pakistan Friendship and Cultural Association, said that the relations between Nepal and Pakistan are cordial and mutual cooperation is continuously increasing. He also appreciated Pakistan's support in Nepal's educational sector. Pakistani ambassador to Nepal, Syed Haider Shah, said that he was  working hard to strengthen more than six decades old relationship between Pakistan and Nepal and take it to a new height. He said that Pakistan and Nepal, as one of the founding members of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)  are cooperating on common issues of regional interest and said that regional peace is indispensable for the economic development of South Asia. Stating that Pakistan was ready to find solutions to all outstanding issues through dialogue and negotiation, he emphasized that regional peace and stability should be ensured for the prosperity of South Asia. Without mentioning the name of India he said that India was a hurdle in peace and progress of entire region. Himalaya Shumsher JB Rana, chairman of the association, said that the association, which has been active for the last 61 years, has been actively working to further promote the relationship between the two countries, and mentioned that they were committed to take the Nepal-Pakistan relationship to a new height, which has been smooth at the government level as well as at the people's level. The reception was attended by people of all walks of life including heads of diplomatic missions, senior officials of the Nepal government, entrepreneurs, businessmen, Pakistani citizens  residing in Nepal, artists, writers, senior media personnel. People's News Monitoring Service