PUSHPA KAMAL DAHAL ‘PRACHANDA’, Prime Minister of Nepal, said there is no better time to rebuild trust and reignite global solidarity as “trust and cooperation are in short supply and crisis of confidence reign the world,” noting that maintenance of world peace and security — the chief objective of the United Nations Charter — has come under serious pressure as a result of a “resurgence of geopolitical competition, power polarization and economic nationalism”.  He therefore spelt the need to change the narrative and pursue common goals of peace and prosperity.  Highlighting how his country has fared in the past 15 years, following a transformation from armed conflict to an inclusive and nationally owned peace process, he listed the 2015 promulgation of a democratic constitution, holding of two successive cycles of multi-tier elections, and the co-signing of the Comprehensive Peace Accord and an Amendment Bill on transitional justice as efforts towards peace and stability.  He therefore appealed to the international community to support its journey. 

Nepal will be graduating from the least developed country status by 2026, he announced, adding that it is committed to a smooth, sustainable and irreversible transition, the process of which is in the final stage.  While the Sustainable Development Goals are at the centre of its development vision and priorities, global challenges like the climate crises, COVID-19 and geopolitical competitions have posed a challenge to progress in attainment of the Global Goals.  He therefore called for “an enhanced level of international support in the form of development assistance, foreign direct investment, export promotion, SDR allocation, technology transfer and technical support”.  He further pledged, as current Chair of the Group of Least Developed Countries, to actively collaborate with fellow members in safeguarding their collective interest, stressing the need to mainstream the Doha Programme of Action into all important UN processes and development system and the development cooperation framework of partners.

On climate change, he lamented the crisis proportion it has assumed, especially for vulnerable mountainous countries like Nepal, saying “our inaction or little action will surely invite disastrous consequences for humanity”.  He stated his country’s commitment to the Paris Agreement, adding that it has set for itself an ambitious target of reaching net zero by 2045.  He also pointed out that “easy access to climate finance will be the key to low carbon and climate resilient development pathways”, spotlighting the irony that his country — with 45 per cent of its territory forests and 15 per cent high mountains, also releasing among the least greenhouse gas emissions in the world — unfairly suffers from the climate crisis.

While highlighting the rise of conflicts between nations, he expressed Nepal’s opposition to the use or threat to use force against the territorial integrity and political independence of any country, stating that the people of Libya, Syria and Yemen continue to bear the brunt of protracted crises and “their suffering must end”.  He reiterated support for the two-State solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in consonance with relevant United Nations resolutions.  He further raised concerns on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, stockpiling of arms, and a continual increase in military expenditures, calling for full disarmament.  He spotlighted the need for multilateral regulations on artificial intelligence and restated his Government’s commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights.  Pointing out that Nepal is the UN’s second-largest troop contributor, he reiterated calls for a “fair share of leadership positions at the headquarters and in the field to the troop- and police-contributing countries”.  He concluded by calling for a reform of the Security Council as well as a revitalization of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council.