On Friday, the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy in Dhaka hosted the vibrant two-part celebration of food and the performing arts known as Nepal Festival 2026.

The Embassy of Nepal and the Bangladesh-Nepal Friendship Society jointly organized the event to highlight Nepal's diverse culinary and cultural traditions.

Bangladesh's minister for cultural affairs, Nitai Roy Chowdhury, joined the event as the chief guest, a Nepal Embassy press release said. 

In his remarks, Chowdhury appreciated the initiative and expressed confidence that the event would play a crucial role in bringing the peoples of the two countries closer. 

He also highlighted the importance of promoting cultural and people-to-people exchanges to consolidate the bonds of friendship and explore further avenues of collaboration.  

Ambassador of Nepal to Bangladesh, Ghanshyam Bhandari, told guests gathered for the inaugural session that the festival was conceived not merely as a showcase of Nepalese cuisine and artistic traditions, but as an affirmation of the living cultural affinities between Nepal and Bangladesh—affinities he described as the bedrock of a multifaceted bilateral relationship.

Director General of Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy SK Rezauddin Ahmed, Chancellor of Pokhara Academy Padma Raj Dhakal, and President of Bangladesh-Nepal Friendship Society Moshiur Ahmed also addressed the inaugural session. 

The centerpiece of the evening was a cultural program comprising fourteen artistic performances that placed Nepalese and Bangladeshi traditions in vivid conversation. Visiting artists from Pokhara Academy presented a suite of traditional Nepalese dance forms—including Sorathi, Sakhiya, Lathi, Salaijo Jhyaure, and Kaura—alongside folk songs and musical recitals.

In a gesture of warm reciprocity, artists from the Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy performed a Nepali classical dance and a Nepali ghazal, in addition to Bangladeshi folk compositions. Nepali students currently enrolled at Bangladeshi universities also participated, lending the occasion a youthful and informal spirit.

The Food Fest, set across eight dedicated stalls, offered an extensive menu of authentic Nepalese delicacies. The stalls were curated primarily by Nepali students studying in Bangladesh — a detail that drew particular appreciation from guests, including Minister Chowdhury, who toured the stalls in the company of other dignitaries after the inaugural addresses.

The festival attracted a wide cross-section of participants from government and non-governmental agencies, cultural and culinary enthusiasts, friends of Nepal, journalists and members of Nepali expatriate community in Bangladesh.