Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali left for New York on Saturday night leading a Nepali delegation to the 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The Foreign Minister is accompanied by his spouse Saraswoti Gyawali.
The General Debate of the UNGA will begin on September 24 under the theme of ‘Galvanizing Multilateral Efforts for Poverty Eradication, Quality Education, Climate Action and Inclusion”. Foreign Minister Gyawali is scheduled to address the UNGA on September 30, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On September 26, Foreign Minister Gyawali will Chair the Informal Session of the SAARC Council of Ministers.
At the margins of the UNGA, the Foreign Minister will participate in the Climate Action Summit, United Nations High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development and the United Nations High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development.
While in New York, Foreign Minister Gyawali will address separate ministerial meetings of the Non-Aligned Movement; G77 and China; Least Developed Countries (LDCs); and Land-locked Developing Countries (LLDCs). He will represent Nepal at the Ministerial Meeting of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue as well.
The Foreign Minister will also address the 10th Ministerial Meeting of the United Nations Group of Friends of Mediation, the High-level Dialogue on Peace Operations, and participate in the High-level Commemorative Event convened by the President of the General Assembly to mark the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, adds the press release issued by the Ministry here today.
The Foreign Minister will attend the reception to be hosted President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, in the evening of September 24 and will join the State Luncheon hosted by the UN Secretary General in the same day.
On the sidelines of the UNGA, Foreign Minister Gyawali will engage in bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various countries. He will also hold meetings with the high-ranking officials of the United Nations.
The Foreign Minister is also scheduled to interact with the Nepalese Diaspora in New York on the 26th of September and attend an interactive meeting on brain gain with the Nepali diaspora community on the 29th of September in Chicago.
Foreign Minister Gyawali is scheduled to return from New York on October 1. The Nepali delegation comprises Chairperson of National Assembly Sustainable Development Committee Chair Taradevi Bhatta, the committee member Dinanath Sharma, Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Bharat Raj Poudyal, and the Prime Minister’s media coordinator Chetan Adhikari. Ambassador of Nepal to the United States of America Dr Arjun Kumar Karki and Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations Amrit Bahadur Rai and other officials from the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York are also part of the delegation, according to the Ministry.
Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi and other senior officials saw off the Nepali delegation at the VIP room of the Tribhuvan International Airport.
Earlier, in course of attending the UNGA, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health and Population Upendra Yadav and Minister for Forest and Environment Shakti Bahadur Basnet have already left Kathmandu for New York.
