NEPAL TO HONOUR SAUDI PRINCE WHO CLIMBED EVEREST Kathmandu, 26 April: - The Nepali Embassy in Saudi Arabia is preparing to felicitate a Saudi prince who scaled Mount Everest last year. Prince Bandar bin Khalid bin Fahd successfully climbed the world's highest mountain on May 19, 2012 and reportedly became the first Saudi Arabian to climb seven summits and the highest peaks in all seven continents, The Kathmandu Post reports.. Nepal's ambassador to Saudi Arabia Udaya Raj Pandey said the embassy is scheduled to honour the prince in mid-June amid a formal programme that would be attended by several guests and the local media. The embassy will hand him over a silver replica of Mount Everest and a letter of appreciation. "We are taking this as an opportunity to promote tourism by encouraging Saudi nationals to visit Nepal. We are preparing to show a documentary on Nepal and its wonderful heritage which might attract many Saudi nationals to choose it as a travel destination," said Pandey. Pandey said Nepal could benefit a lot by attracting Saudi tourists. Besides major European tourist destinations, an increasing number of people are visiting countries like Sri Lanka, Philippines, Thailand and Malaysia. "Saudi citizens spend a lot in travelling, even higher than most Europeans and Americans. We can benefit a lot by encouraging them to visit our country," said Pandey. He added that he has taken the event as a way of introducing Nepal's natural treasures, mountains and the hospitability industry to Saudi citizens. According to Arab News, a Saudi daily, Prince Bandar is also the youngest Arab to climb seven summits at the age of 28, and the fastest to climb them, in only three years and 301 days. nnnn