Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, currently in New York leading Nepal’s delegation to the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), met with UN Secretary General António Guterres on Sunday.

In a post on X, Prime Minister Oli said the meeting covered key issues, including transitional justice and climate justice.

“Had a productive meeting with UN Secretary-General @antonioguterres today. We discussed important issues, including transitional justice and climate justice. I look forward to strengthening our partnership for a better future,” Oli wrote.

Secretary General Guterres thanked Nepal for its significant contributions to UN peacekeeping operations and recognised the country’s leadership as the chair of the Global Coordination Bureau for the group of Least Developed Countries.

According to the Office of the UN Secretary-General, the meeting also touched on climate change, particularly the mountain agenda. The discussion further emphasised the importance of advancing Nepal's transitional justice process, reads a statement from the Secretary General’s office.

According to the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations New York, they exchanged various aspects of Nepal-United Nations cooperation during the meeting.

Welcoming Prime Minister Oli at the UN Secretariat, the Secretary General commended Nepal for its steadfast commitment to the principles of the UN Charter, the Mission said.

“The Secretary General said that the agenda of climate change is the priority of the UN, including drastic reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and addressing vulnerabilities of mountain countries like Nepal,” said the Mission in a press statement. “He stressed that climate finance should be adequate for the developing countries including the LDCs to focus both on mitigation and adaptation.”

The Secretary General also stressed deeper reforms of the international financial architecture for enhanced financial support to developing countries as well as for simplified access to development finance.

Recalling the Secretary General’s recent visit to Nepal including his address in the Parliament, Prime Minister Oli expressed his happiness to inform that Nepal has enforced the act on transitional justice based on a victim-centric approach, guidance from the Supreme Court and the international norms. “He assured the smooth implementation of the act to resolve the issues of transitional justice once and for all,” reads the press release.

According to the Mission, the prime minister also highlighted the devastating impacts of climate change in Nepal, including the permafrost in Thame, Solukhumbu, in August.

“The prime minister informed him that Nepal is convening Sagarmatha Sambad with a view to championing the agenda of the mountain ecosystem and extended his cordial invitation to the Secretary General to visit Nepal again to address this dialogue platform,” said the Mission. “The prime minister stated that Nepal is now focused on economic transformation based on the vision of “Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali”.”

The Secretary General thanked the prime minister for his invitation.

Oli expressed that Nepal is committed to graduating from the LDC category by 2026 and to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and he called the Secretary-General to urge the development partners and international community to enhance the development assistance to Nepal to this end.

During the meeting, the prime minister underlined that Nepal is committed to maintaining international peace and security as the largest Troops and Police Contributing Country (TPCC) in the UN peace missions.

He urged the Secretary General to provide high-level posts for Nepal both in the headquarters and in the field.

According to the Mission, Guterres expressed his deep concern over the accelerated melting of glaciers and the damage it causes and assured of his every effort to enhance the resources in the Loss and Damage Fund.

During the meeting, the prime minister was accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs Arzu Rana Deuba, Chief Advisor to the prime minister Bishnu Prasad Rimal, Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal, the Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations Lok Bahadur Thapa, and Joint Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai.

Prime Minister Oli also addressed the “Parliamentary Forum on Financing the Future: Aligning Finance with the Promise of the Paris Agreement” as the keynote speaker.

In his address, the prime minister stressed the importance of phasing out fossil fuels to prevent catastrophic climatic disasters that are becoming more frequent and severe than ever.

“Underscoring the adverse effects of global warming in the countries in special situations including the LDCs, the prime minister urged for increased investment in green and renewable energy technologies, just transition to renewable energy and vulnerable countries’ better access to climate funds,” the Mission quoted the prime minister as saying. “The Forum was organised by Parliamentarians for a Fossil Free Future and Rainforest Action Network 3.”

In the meantime, the United Nations High Representative for Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States and Under Secretary General Rabab Fatima paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Oli.

They exchanged views on the Nepal-UN partnership, the graduation of Nepal from the LDC category and the upcoming Third International Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3) among others.

Prime Minister Oli left for New York on Friday.

During his 10-day stay in the US, in addition to addressing the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York on September 26, the prime minister will attend and speak at several other functions on the sidelines and meet world leaders, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This is Oli’s first foreign visit since being appointed prime minister for the third time on July 15.