NEW YORK: Prime Minister (PM) Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ held discussions with UN High Representative Rabab Fatima during his visit to New York as the leader of a Nepali delegation attending the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations.

Fatima, who serves as the UN High Representative for least-developed countries and landlocked developing countries, engaged in talks with Prime Minister Dahal.

The discussions, as stated by the Permanent Mission of Nepal in New York, encompassed a range of topics of collective interest, with a focus on strategies to advance the interests of underdeveloped countries within the multilateral forum.

Prime Minister Dahal also met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York during which he emphasized the government’s relentless efforts to successfully conclude Nepal’s transitional justice (TJ) process.

During the meeting, PM Dahal has requested the support and assistance of the United Nations, and underscored the importance of United Nations assistance as Nepal progresses towards becoming a developing country.

Prime Minister Dahal, who led the Nepali delegation to the 78th United Nations General Assembly in the United States, Prime Minister Dahal is set to deliver his address to the General Assembly this Thursday.

Prior to this, Prime Minister Dahal addressed the 2023 SDG Summit as the Chair of the Group of the LDCs at the UN Headquarters in New York.

He said that more investment in people, support for structural transformation, and achieving rapid and sustainable recovery from the COVID pandemic was necessary for achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Saying that massive scaling up of affordable finance to Least Developed Countries (LDCs) including through the SDG stimulus package is crucial, the PM stated that commitment and support of international community was significant for adoption of the Doha Programme of Action, a 10-year plan ‘to tap into the potential of the LDCs’.

The PM said that materializing the SDGs is Nepal’s top development priority and the SDGs have been integrated into the national policies and plans.