Nepal has been elected as a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) in the elections held at UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday. The council consists of 54 Member States elected by the General Assembly for a term of three years from five different regional groups.

As an elected member, Nepal will serve in the ECOSOC for a three-year term beginning in January 2024.

A statement issued by the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations following the election stated that apart from Nepal, two countries from the Asia Pacific region namely Pakistan and Japan were among the 18 member states elected by a secret ballot.

“Other newly elected countries were Kenya, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, and Zambia from Africa; Poland from Eastern Europe; Haiti, Paraguay, Suriname, and Uruguay from Latin America and the Caribbean; and, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Spain, and the United Kingdom from Western Europe,” reads the statement.

According to the statement, the ECOSOC, established by the UN Charter in 1945 as one of the six main organs of the United Nations, is the central platform for fostering debate and innovative thinking, forging consensus on ways forward, and coordinating efforts to achieve socio-economic progress including Sustainable Development Goals.

Nepal’s election is an acknowledgement of its constructive leadership and engagement in several UN processes and its abiding faith in the purposes and principles of the United Nations, read the statement.

Following the election, Amrit Bahadur Rai, the Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations, expressed gratitude to all the UN Member States for their trust and confidence placed in Nepal.

“Nepal will focus to recalibrate the leading role of ECOSOC in steering and coordinating the work of the UN development system and specialised agencies to implement the SDGs as well as the Doha Programme of Action for LDCs,” said Rai.