UN Chief Antonio Guterres arrives in Nepal on four-day visit

KATHMANDU: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Nepal’s capital Kathmandu on Sunday morning on his four-day official visit to the Himalayan Nation.

Nepal Foreign Minister NP Saud along with other officials welcomed Guterres as he arrived at Tribhuvan International Airport at the invitation of Nepal’s Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

This is the first visit of the UN chief to Nepal after he assumed office on January 1, 2017.

According to the release from Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Guterres will address the Joint Session of the Federal Parliament on 31 October 2023, as well as, have first-hand observation of the impacts of climate change on Nepal and will meet affected communities as he travels the Himalayan nation.

As per the itinerary of the visit, the UN Secretary-General is scheduled to visit the Annapurna Base Camp area as well as Lukla – the gateway to Mount Everest where he will be holding conversations with the communities affected by climate change.

Apart from the Himalayan belt, he also will be visiting Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautam Buddha and Pokhara on the same day.

On Sunday, Antonio Guterres will call on Nepal President Ramchandra Paudel and hold a meeting with Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ and other dignitaries.

According to Nepal’s foreign ministry, the UN Secretary-General is accompanied by Jean Pierre Lacroix, United Nations Under Secretary General for Peace Operations, Hanaa Singer-Hamdy, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations to Nepal, and other officials from the UN Headquarters in New York, and the United Nations country team in Nepal. He will depart from Kathmandu on November 1, 2023.