Nepal PM embarks on visit to New York for UN General Assembly

By Binod Prasad Adhikari
Kathmandu [Nepal], September 16 : Nepali Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ departed for New York, United States on Saturday evening leading a delegation to the 78th session of the UN General Assembly.
The Chairman of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist Center will fly to China after addressing the United Nations General Assembly on September, 21, the Prime Minister informed the lower house on Friday.
“In order to address the United Nation’s General Assembly, I have received the invitation from United Nation’s Secretary General. The 78th General Assembly is being held at the UN headquarters in New York (USA), presenting Nepal as the head of state sharing the Nepali democratic values, inclusive political representation and our attempt to make Nepal prosper- these issues are to be presented in front of the international community. I take this as an important opportunity,” Dahal said in his address on Friday.
The theme of the General Debate of the 78th UNGA has been chosen as “Rebuilding Trust and Reigniting Global Solidarity: Accelerating Action on the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals towards Peace, Prosperity, Progress and Sustainability for All”.
During his five-day stay in New York for the General Assembly, the Nepali PM will also attend the opening session of the General Debate of the 78th UNGA and attend a reception being hosted by US President Joe Biden on September 19.
While in New York, he is also scheduled to address the UN SDGs Summit and Climate Ambition Summit, among others, on the sidelines of the UNGA. He will also hold a meeting with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and bilateral meetings with his counterparts from various countries.
The next day after the address, the Nepali Premier announced that he would be on an official visit to China with a total of eight deals. Though the Prime Minister informed parliament about his scheduled visit to China following his visit to New York, no issues of significant issues are on the table.
As per Ministry of Foreign Affairs sources, the Nepal government had hinted to propose converting the loan for the construction of China-funded Pokhara International Airport to a grant but has received a red-flag.
“As a Prime Minister of Nepal, the official visit to China would further strengthen the relation between the two countries that has remained for ages and the areas of cooperation would further expand,” the PM said.
As per Dahal, he will be meeting Chinese President Xi Jinping on September 23 in Hangzhou and also participate in the inauguration ceremony of the 19th Asian Games to be held there. He also will meet Chinese counterpart Li Qiang in Beijing on September 25.
The Prime Minister will fly back to Kathmandu via Tibet on September 30. Meanwhile, the Office of the President said Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka will look after the prime minister’s responsibilities in his absence.
Defence Minister Khadka is second in rank in the Cabinet. President Ramchandra Paudel assigned the responsibility to Khadka at Prime Minister Dahal’s recommendation, as per a statement issued by the Office of the President.