United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has arrived in Nepal on his four-day official visit. Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud greeted the UN Secretary-General in the VVIP lounge of the Tribhuvan International Airport (TIA) in Kathmandu.

Other present on the occasion were foreign secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal, senior official from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nepal’s Permanent Representative to UN Lok Bahadur Thapa and UN Resident Coordinator to Nepal Hanaa Singer-Hamdy were at TIA to welcome UN Secretary General. The Nepal Army also offered a guard of honour to Secretary-General Guterres.

Guterres' visit to Nepal took place at the invitation of Prime Minister of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda'.

On the first day of his visit on Sunday, Secretary-General Guterres is scheduled to pay a courtesy call on President Ramchandra Paudel at the Office of the President and PM Dahal at the Prime Minister's office, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The Secretary-General will have separate meetings with Nepali Congress (NC) President Sher Bahadur Deuba and CPN-UML Chairperson KP Sharma Oli at the New Baneshwor-based Federal Parliament Building.

Likewise, Guterres is also scheduled to hold separate meetings with Deputy Prime Minister duo, Purna Bahadur Khadka and Narayankaji Shrestha.

Following the meetings, he will observe the Patan Durbar Square, a heritage site of historical and archeological importance.

Prime Minister Dahal will host a banquet reception on Sunday evening in honour of Secretary-General Guterres.

In course of his visit, the Secretary-General will move to Namche, Pokhara, Annapurna Base Camp and Lumbini on Monday.

According to the Parliament Secretariat, he is scheduled to address the joint session of the federal parliament at 4.00 pm on Tuesday.

Guterres, who is scheduled to visit Nepal first after assuming the UN Secretary-General post in 2017, will discuss the matters relating to the peace process, sustainable development and climate change, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed.

The high-level visit of the UN Secretary-General taking place after a hiatus of around 15 years has been taken with importance. (RSS)