World News | UN Chief Meets Nepal Prez, PM; Praises Nepal's Tradition of Championing Peace and Multilateralism

Kathmandu, Oct 29 (PTI) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Sunday praised Nepal's long tradition of championing peace and multilateralism as he met the country's top leadership, including Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda', on his maiden visit to the Himalayan nation.

Guterres, who arrived in Nepal early Sunday on a four-day official visit, also called on President Ramchandra Paudel at the President House and held separate meetings with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka and Foreign Minister N P Saud.

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The UN chief began his Nepal visit by extending condolences to the families of the 10 Nepalese students killed in the Hamas attacks in Israel, and once again called for the protection of all civilians in Gaza, where, he said, “the situation is growing more desperate by the hour.”

"From Nepal, I will continue to insist on the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages in Gaza. There is no justification, ever, for the killing, injuring and abducting of civilians," said Guterres, who is visiting Nepal for the first time after assuming the UN Secretary-General post in 2017.

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Speaking at a press conference alongside Prime Minister Prachanda after their meeting, the UN chief also expressed best wishes for the safe return of Bipin Joshi, a Nepali citizen who is missing, and vowed that he would continue to insist on the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages in Gaza.

At the same time, Guterres noted the extremely dire situation in Gaza and expressed regret that instead of a critically needed humanitarian pause supported by the international community, Israel has intensified its military operations.

He praised Nepal's long tradition of championing peace and multilateralism and called on the world to “be a better friend to Nepal”, which is caught in a raft of crises, not of its own making, including the threat posed by climate chaos.

“Nepal is also caught in a blizzard of global crises not of its making: the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation, and the enormous threat posed by climate chaos,” he said.

He said that much more international action is needed. The developed countries must step up to support sustainable development, and help developing economies, including Nepal, to tackle the climate crisis, he said.

Guterres said that the transitional justice process in Nepal that the government is trying to conclude must help bring peace to victims, families and communities.

The UN chief pledged the world body's support to Nepal to develop a process that meets international standards, the Supreme Court's rulings, and the needs of victims - and to put it into practice.

Starting in 2006, the peace process for inclusion of Maoist rebels in mainstream politics, issues relating to the implementation of transitional justice mechanism and truth and reconciliation commission, remains incomplete.

He also thanked Prime Minister Prachanda and said that the UN was hugely grateful to Nepal for its support for multilateral solutions – backed up by its enormous contribution to peacekeeping missions worldwide.

The Secretary-General also said that Nepal has played a key role in maintaining world peace and resolving multilateral issues. "Besides peacebuilding, Nepal has made positive achievements in political transformation in the past 20 years,” he said.

Prachanda reiterated Nepal's unflinching commitment to the principles and purposes of the UN Charter and reaffirmed its unwavering faith in multilateralism with the United Nations at the centre.

He shed light on Nepal's inclusive and peaceful transition to a federal democratic republic and the UN's support of Nepal's unique and home-grown peace process, according to a press release issued by the Foreign Ministry.

"The Prime Minister also appreciated the UN for its continued support to Nepal's development efforts, including poverty reduction, education, child and maternal health, gender empowerment, disaster resilience, reducing the impact of climate change, and implementation of sustainable development goals," it said.

The Prime Minister also expressed hope for the support of the UN system to Nepal's graduation from the LDC status, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

During his meeting with Guterres, President Paudel recalled the UN's support to Nepal as a development partner for a long time, saying Nepal has kept the UN on its top priority list.

He thanked the UN for its assistance to Nepal's socio-economic development and in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) by the world body, its specialized agencies and its programmes, according to the President's office.

Earlier, the UN chief was received by Foreign Minister Saud at the Tribhuvan International Airport. He was accorded a ceremonial welcome at the airport.

The UN chief is accompanied by Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean Pierre Lacroix, Resident Coordinator of the United Nations to Nepal Hanaa Singer-Hamdy and other officials from the UN Headquarters in New York and the United Nations country team in Nepal.

He also visited Patan Durbar Square, a heritage site of historical and archaeological significance.

Talking to reporters after observing the Patan Durbar Square, Guterres underscored the need for putting special efforts to keep intact the forms and structure of the heritages with archaeological importance.

Prachanda hosted a banquet reception in honour of the Secretary-General.

The Secretary-General will also visit famous tourist destinations Namche, Pokhara, Annapurna Base Camp and Buddha's birthplace Lumbini on Monday. He will also meet Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba and Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist) (CPN-UML) Chairperson K P Sharma Oli.

He would address a joint session of Nepal's Parliament on Tuesday.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)