- Prime Minister Balen Shah leads a 15-member delegation to the 81st UN General Assembly, addressing the session in New York on September 24.
- Nepal aims to leverage the Rasuwa floods to demand international compensation and financial support for losses caused by climate change.
- Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal and senior officials will join Shah to conduct bilateral meetings and advocate for vulnerable nations.
- The Prime Minister will depart Nepal on September 23 and return on September 25 following his address to the assembly.
Kathmandu, Nepal: Prime Minister Balendra (Balen) Shah will lead a 15-member Nepali delegation to the United States to attend the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly. He is scheduled to address the General Assembly in New York on September 24.
This time, the focus of Nepal’s participation is expected to go beyond the size and composition of the delegation. The government is preparing to use the UN platform to draw international attention to the damage caused by the recent floods in Rasuwa and seek greater support for countries bearing the heavy cost of climate change.
According to sources, Nepal plans to link the Rasuwa floods to the broader impacts of climate change and raise the issue of financial assistance and compensation for climate-related losses and damage suffered by vulnerable countries.
The Nepali delegation will include Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal and Prime Minister Shah’s Chief Adviser Kumar Ben, among other officials.
From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, Chief of the UN Division Krishna Prasad Dhakal, Chief of Protocol Kumar Raj Kharel, two joint secretaries and an undersecretary will join the delegation.
Officials accompanying the prime minister from the Prime Minister’s Office include Chief Adviser Ben, Chief Personal Secretary Subas Sharma, Private Secretary Pradeep Pariyar and an undersecretary from the prime minister’s communications team. Two Nepal Army officers and one Nepal Police officer will also travel as part of his security team.
Foreign Minister Khanal and other ministry officials are scheduled to leave for New York on September 20. They will attend meetings and hold bilateral discussions on the sidelines of the General Assembly.
Prime Minister Shah is scheduled to leave Nepal on September 23 and address the General Assembly the following day. Heads of state and government and foreign ministers from different countries are scheduled to speak between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m. on September 24. Sources said Shah is expected to be the 17th speaker.
The government had initially planned to send a delegation led by Foreign Minister Khanal. However, the scale of destruction caused by the floods in Rasuwa prompted preparations for the prime minister to attend the General Assembly in person.
Rasuwa Floods to Highlight Climate Losses
Nepal plans to use the Rasuwa floods as an example of the growing risks faced by countries that contribute little to global emissions but suffer disproportionately from climate-related disasters.
Nepal has long argued that its contribution to global climate change is negligible, while floods, landslides and glacial lake outburst floods continue to cause deaths, displacement and economic losses across the country.
Prime Minister Shah is expected to raise these concerns at the General Assembly and call attention to the need for stronger international support to help vulnerable countries deal with climate-related losses.
Nepal will also host several side events on climate change during the General Assembly. Shah, however, is not expected to attend those programmes.
According to sources, Prime Minister Shah will return to Nepal on September 25, a day after his address to the General Assembly.
