Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) wrapped up her tow-day visit of Nepal on Tuesday.

During her visit, Alisjahbana called on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Tuesday and discussed Nepal’s development challenges.

The UN official also held meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Minister of Finance Prakash Sharan Mahat, Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala. She also held a meeting with Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission Min Bahadur Shrestha.

“Congratulating Nepal for its recent appointment as chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of Least Developed Countries, she highlighted ESCAP’s cooperation with the Government of Nepal in supporting Nepal’s smooth and sustainable graduation, particularly in the areas of structural transformation, sustainable transport, energy connectivity and clean (electric) cooking, disaster risk resilience, and statistics and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals,” reads a statement issued by UN Nepal.

Alisjahbana, during her visit, inaugurated the Subregional Workshop on “Structural Transformation towards a Sustainable Graduation from Least Developed Country Category” organised by ESCAP and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office/UN Country Team and hosted by the National Planning Commission of the Government of Nepal in Kathmandu.

Likewise, Alisjahbana also met SAARC Secretary General Esala Ruwan Weerakoon and took the opportunity to examine cooperation between the secretariats of ESCAP and SAARC in South Asia.

According to the statement, Alisjahbana, accompanied by UN Resident Coordinator Hanaa Singer Hamdy during the meetings, reaffirmed the UN Country Team’s support to Nepal in accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that will facilitate Nepal’s smooth and sustainable graduation.

Alisjahbana also acknowledged the country on overcoming unprecedented challenges and expressed appreciation for initiating the formulation of the Integrated National Financing Framework, which furthers Government efforts to reorient financial resources to achieve its national goals.

“Recognizing the complexity of the transition to a developed country, she reiterated UN Nepal’s readiness to work with the Government, drawing on experience and expertise nationally, regionally and internationally, including through South-South and triangular cooperation,” reads the statement.