The United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres, who had earlier postponed his Nepal visit due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, has rescheduled his Nepal visit to the end of this month.

A senior Nepal government official told the Post that Guterres is coming on a four-day official visit from October 29 to November 1. As per the preliminary itinerary, Guterres will land in Kathmandu on October 29 via Qatar and will return via the same route on the afternoon of November 1.

Foreign ministry officials said that since they are still working on the visit and coordinating with the office of the UN secretary general regarding its logistics, programme and function, the formal announcement will be made later.

Our internal preparation regarding the visit is underway and it will be announced once it is confirmed, said Sewa Lamsal, the foreign ministry spokesperson. Though the visit date is rescheduled, Guterres’ programmes and meetings in Kathmandu are almost the same.

He will call on President Ramchandra Paudel, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and senior leaders from different political parties. He will visit some areas in Nepal that have suffered the adverse effects of climate change.

The UN chief’s visit to Everest Base Camp, Annapurna Base Camp and Lumbini are on the itinerary, an official privy to the visit said. Prime Minister Dahal had extended an invitation to Guterres during his meeting in New York in September and in Rome, Italy in July.

Officials at the foreign ministry said they had been in contact with the UN secretary general’s office since May to arrange for his visit to Nepal.

An official at the prime minister’s office said that Guterres might address Parliament too.

Officials said they have nearly finalised the itinerary, agenda and all logistical arrangements for the visit. Among the key items on the agenda are climate change, its effects on livelihoods, the peace process and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). He will discuss these issues with relevant stakeholders during the visit, said officials involved in the preparations.

Almost all UN secretary generals have visited Nepal in the past.

Prime Minister Dahal, during his two meetings with the UN chief, had invited him to visit Nepal and study the progress the country has made in the peace process and to observe the challenges posed by climate change.

In the last meeting between Dahal and Guteress in New York, they discussed different facets of Nepal’s peace process, UN peacekeeping, climate change, SDGs, concerns of the least developed countries, and development financing, according to a statement issued by Nepal’s foreign affairs ministry.

Likewise, on the margins of the United Nations Food Systems Summit, 2023 in Italy, Dahal and Guteress discussed the environment, food security and strengthening relations between Nepal and the UN.