United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is on a four-day official trip to Nepal at the invitation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’. This is Antonio Guterres’ first visit to Nepal since taking office as UN Secretary-General on January 1, 2017, and his second Nepal visit as he visited Nepal in May 2007 as the UN high commissioner for refugees.
The key agenda of his visit to Nepal is climate change, ways to mitigate its effects on livelihoods, Nepal’s peace process, and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The meeting of the PM of Nepal with the UN Secretary-General primarily revolved around Nepal’s ongoing peace process, Nepal’s graduation to a middle-income developing country, and other pressing issues of the hour such as climate change and sustainable development. PM Dahal said that the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s four-day official trip to Nepal would contribute to further strengthening Nepal’s relations with the United Nations and the international community.
Visiting United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his pleasure at Nepal’s efforts to graduate from LDC to developing countries. He emphasized that developed countries must step up to support sustainable development and help developing economies, including Nepal, tackle the climate crisis.
On the occasion, Guterres said that the transitional justice process in Nepal must help bring peace to victims, families, and communities and added that Nepal’s transitional justice should meet international standards, the Supreme Court’s rulings, and the needs of victims.
The UN Secretary-General expressed his condolences to the bereaved families of 10 Nepalis who lost their lives in Israel during the Hamas attack and hoped for the safe release of the missing Nepali Bipin Joshi.
UNSG Antonio Guterres also called upon Nepali Congress Chairman Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN (UML) Chairman KP Sharma Oli today. He met the President of Nepal Ramchandra Paudel at Sheetal Niwas’s residence. After the meeting, he visited Patan Durbar Square to visit the UNESCO Heritage site.
Tomorrow he is expected to visit Namche and Annapurna Base Camp to observe climate change and will also visit Lumbini.