Minister for Foreign Affairs Narayan Prakash Saud on Wednesday addressed the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) ministerial meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Speaking at the event, Saud highlighted the importance of the ‘time-tested’ principles of the Non-Aligned Movement and urged global leaders to make collective efforts in promoting dialogue, understanding, and peaceful resolutions to conflicts, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

The minister stated that durable peace must be promoted, through dialogue and respect for diversity, further stressing the need to foster international cooperation within NAM, deepen south-south cooperation and strengthen multilateralism with the United Nations at the centre to resolve global problems.

“Nepal firmly believes in the principles of NAM and the power of unity in confronting these challenges,” he said.

Underscoring the need to accelerate economic development to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Minister Saud further added that NAM needed to champion the reform of international financial institutions to make them more inclusive, transparent and effective.

Stating Nepal’s goal of graduating from the least-developed nations by 2026, the foreign minister also talked about the adverse impacts of climate change in Nepal, further stressing the need for collective efforts to bring about climate justice, promote sustainable development and mobilise support for climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.

Saud also held bilateral talks with various of his foreign counterparts on the sidelines of the event.

The Foreign Minister is scheduled to meet Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and his Azerbaijani counterpart Jeyhun Bayramov on Thursday.