Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda met with the President of the United States of America Joe Biden during a reception hosted by the US President in honor of the leaders of delegations to the UNGA in the evening.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda participated in the opening oftheHigh-Level General Debate of the 78thSession of the United Nations General Assembly today. A number of Heads of State, Heads of Government,and high-level dignitaries from different countries are attending the General Debate of the 78th Session of UNGA, being held from September 19 to 26, 2023, under the theme“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”.

Earlier in the morning, the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister also attended the welcome reception hosted by the UN Secretary-General for the leaders of delegations this morning.

Prime Minister received a courtesy call from. Rabab Fatima, Under-Secretary-Generaland High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries, and Small Island Developing States.Discussions were focused on matters pertaining to the promotion and protection of the interests of LDCs including the implementation of the Doha Program of Action (DPoA) and the graduation of Nepal from LDCs status.

Prime Minister had a meeting with the President of the Socialist Democratic Republic of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe today on the sidelines of UNGA. They exchanged views on further strengthening relations and cooperation both at bilateral and multilateral fora including the United Nations.

Similarly, Hon Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud had a meeting with Under Secretary-General for Operational Support Atul Khareon the sidelines of the UNGA. During the meeting, they discussed matters relating to Nepal-UN cooperation in different areas including peacekeeping missions.

The Foreign Minister also met with CTBTO Executive Secretary Robert Floyd today and expressed Nepal's strong commitment to nuclear disarmament and extended support for CTBTO's work.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'delivered a statementtoday during the UN High-Level Meeting on Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response (PPPR), convened on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly. The High-level meeting was organized under the theme “Making the World Safer: Creating and Maintaining Political Momentum and Solidarity for Pandemic Prevention, Preparedness and Response”.

In his statement, Prime Minister underscored the need to ensure that the post pandemicrecovery and revival is quick and uniform aspoor and the Least developed countries are struggling hard to catch up with the pace with others.Stating that Nepal is effortful to strengthen its public health architecture, he said that Nepal is willing to work in solidarity with international community. He stressed the need for multi-stakeholder, multi-sectoral, and the whole of society approach to pandemic prevention and response.

Similarly, the Prime Minister addressed the Climate Ambition Summit held on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the UNGA this morning. Speaking in the capacity of the Chair of the Group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister called for effective implementation of the Doha Program of Action (DPOA), putting resilience & risk-informed development at the core, doubling adaptation finance by 2025 and fulfillment of $100B climate commitment.

Speaking in the national capacity, the Prime Minister affirmed Nepal’s commitment to Paris Agreement on Climate Change and the national goal to reach net-zero by 2045. He also stated that Nepal is pleased to be part of UNSecretary-General’s Adaptation Pipeline Accelerator and Early Warnings Initiatives and assure its full support and commitment to these initiatives.

Likewise, Prime Minister also delivered a statement in the capacity of the chair of the Group of LDCs in the roundtable of the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development entitled “Innovative Solutions to Unlock SDG Investments’ held on the sidelines of the 78th Session of the UNGA this afternoon.

He urged the developed countries to fulfill their commitment of 0.2% ODA/GNI along with the increase ofthe grant component. He emphasized that concessional financing should be scaled up and the stark inequity in SDR allocation must be corrected to increase the financial safety net of LDCs. In addition, he also called for meeting the climate finance commitments.

A number of heads of state, heads of government as well as the high-level dignitaries attended these meetings and delivered their statements.

Prime Minister had a meeting with the Prime Minister ofNorway H. E. Jonas Gahr Støre on the sidelines of the UNGA78. They discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral relations & multilateral cooperation.

Prime Minister also had an interaction program with the Nepali diaspora at the Consulate General of Nepal in New York this evening.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon. N P Saud put his signature to the ‘BBNJ Agreement' at the UN Headquarters today. With this, Nepal is one of the pioneer signatory states from the LLDCs to sign the Agreement during the treaty event 2023.

Similarly, Foreign Minister also attended the 18thMinisterial Meeting of Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD) held on the margins of the UNGA78. The meeting was held under the theme of “Post-Pandemic Sustainable Recovery.”

Minister expressed hope that ACD will play a significant role in strengthening mutual trust, forging common understanding, and promoting cooperation and collaboration among the Member States for peace, stability, shared development, and prosperity of the Asian nations.

Delivering his statement in the meeting Foreign Minister affirmed that Nepal attaches high priority to regional processes, including the ACD and is ready to contribute to the ACD.

Similarly, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' held a meeting with the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres at the UN Headquarters in New York.

During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on various aspects of Nepal-UN cooperation. Recalling his fond memories of his visits to Nepal, Secretary-General Mr. Guterres appreciated the role Nepal has been playing in the United Nations over the years. He reassured Prime Minister of continued support of the UN to Nepal’s development efforts and its path to realizing SDGs.

Prime Minister thanked the UN Secretary-General for lending support to Nepal’s development and peace initiatives. He also expressed Nepal’s firm commitment to multilateralism with the UN at the core.

He put special emphasis on Nepal’s home-grown and nationally-led peace process. He sought the UN’s solidarity and cooperation in concluding the remaining tasks of Nepal's peace process. Prime Minister appreciated the Secretary-General’s earnest efforts in climate change and brought to his attention the severity of the effects and impacts of climate change on vulnerable countries like Nepal. A

s the chair of the Group of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), the Prime Minister also put the Secretary-General across the concerns and challenges facing the LDCs on multiple fronts.

Secretary-General Guterres commended Nepal’s peace process and assured of his full support and cooperation to take it to a logical conclusion soon. The Secretary-General hailed Nepal’s role and contribution to peacekeeping operations around the world.

Prime Minister, who arrived in New York this morning leading the Nepali delegation to the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly, had interaction with representatives of the Nepali Diaspora this afternoon. The Rt. Hon. Prime Minister highlighted the achievements Nepal made recently and urged the Nepali diaspora to contribute more to the socio-economic development of Nepal.

Similarly, Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud held a meeting with the Under Secretary-General of the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Ms. Rosemary DiCarlo earlier today. They exchanged views on key issues pertaining to global peace and security including the role of prevention, mediation, and peacebuilding.

Foreign Minister also addressed the Global Parliamentarian’s Inquiry on the Progress of Fossil Fuels Phase-out Program as a keynote speaker today morning. He emphasized a fossil-fuel-free world and urged the stakeholders to enhance actions to this end.

Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal delivered a statement, today, in the capacity of chair of the LDC group in the SDG Action Weekend side event entitled ‘Scaling blended finance to mobilize private SDG investments in LDCs and other vulnerable countries’. Underscoring the significance of blended finance for SDGs and climate change, he highlighted that blended finance is not a mere financial mechanism but also a commitment to collaborative efforts that unite public and private resources to drive sustainable and inclusive transformation.

The Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations Lok Bahadur Thapa hosted a reception in the evening in honor of the Prime Minister and the Nepali delegation.