KATHMANDU: Nepal Tourism Board, Visit Nepal Year 2020 Secretariat and Climate Alliance of Himalayan Communities are jointly organizing the Sustainable Summits Conference from 1-5 June in Kathmandu this year.

The conference will showcase Nepal’s mountain environment, highlight climate change issues and bring international attention to Nepal’s mountain tourism.

The fifth edition of its kind, the conference is aimed at ‘honoring mountain voices’ and ‘promoting increased understanding’ of the Himalaya as an “abode of the Gods”.

The organizers said that the conference will provide a platform for issues from the Hindu Kush Himalaya region to be discussed, debated and consolidated in order to influence policy and to have a unified voice in other global arenas.

Discussions will also be held on the measures to strengthen tourism to the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, learn and share global best practices and explore opportunities for national and regional cooperation.

The conference will basically focus on four main themes — mountains nurturing communities; sustainable mountaineering – the Everest factor; development pressures – balancing local priorities, conservation and tourism and tourism, trade and regional cooperation – promoting economic, ecological, and geographical connectivity.

Speakers from Nepal, Bhutan, India, China, and Pakistan will present their views.

Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and former Administrator of UNDP will deliver the keynote address while mountaineers Sir Chris Bonington and Reinhold Messner will be the speakers at the conference.