By A Staff Reporter, Kathmandu, Sept. 22: Prime Minister Balendra Shah is scheduled to leave for the United States on Tuesday to participate in the 81st session of the United National General Assembly (UNGA). The visit marks his first foreign trip since he took office in March this year.
Prime Minister Shah is leading a 14-member Nepali delegation to the high-level session of the General Assembly. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), the Prime Minister is set to address the General Debate of the session on 24 September 2026. He will stay in New York for five days, from 22 to 26 September.
The Prime Minister is set to draw the international community’s attention to the loss of lives and property Nepal has repeatedly suffered from climate change and climate-induced disasters.
He will call for climate justice, including immediate and appropriate compensation through mechanisms such as the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), while highlighting that Nepal is experiencing the adverse impacts of climate change despite its negligible carbon emissions.
The Prime Minister will also appeal to developed and wealthy countries to provide accessible and concessional technology and climate finance to Nepal for building climate-resilient infrastructure, promoting climate-smart agriculture and strengthening the capacity of stakeholders.
The Prime Minister is expected to focus on climate change and its repercussions on the Himalayas and Nepali people who have recently experienced devastating floods in the Bhotekoshi River. During his stay in New York, he is scheduled to hold a meeting with the United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
A team led by Minister for Foreign Affairs Shisir Khanal has already departed for New York on Sunday evening. During his stay, he is scheduled to participate in various high-level meetings, side events and ministerial-level engagements. He will also hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts and other dignitaries.
The Nepali delegation comprises of Minister Khanal, Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister Kumar Byanjankar, Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai and other senior officials of the government of Nepal.
PM Shah is scheduled to return Kathmandu on September 26.
PM meets NC leaders
Prime Minister Balendra Shah held a meeting with the leaders of the main opposition party, the Nepali Congress on Monday.
The meeting was held at the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers in Singha Durbar.
According to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat, the Prime Minister had invited representatives of the main opposition party for necessary discussions ahead of his address to the United Nations General Assembly.
Nepali Congress Parliamentary Party Leader Bhishma Raj Angdembe and Bishwo Prakash Sharma were also present at the meeting, the Secretariat informed.
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