Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli and Foreign Minister Azru Rana, who are currently in New York to participate in the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, are busy in different meetings and engagements. According to the itinerary of the visit, the USAID administrator Samantha Power will call on Oli on Tuesday New York local time. Oli will also meet President of the European Council Charles Michel, President of Finland Alexander Stabb and Prime Minister of Samoa Fiamē Naomi Mata‘afa, the itinerary states. Matters of bilateral interest will be discussed in these meetings, foreign ministry officials said.

On Monday, Oli addressed the ‘Lead-Free Future: Partnership Launch and Pledging Event’, organised by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) as the keynote speaker. In his address, Oli underlined lead poisoning as a major cause of productivity losses and harm to child health, especially in developing countries. Oli stressed the need for effective domestic policy measures, international assistance in national institution building, bridging financing gaps through adequate resource mobilisation, and multi-stakeholder partnership to curb its adverse impacts.

Moreover, Oli underscored the progress Nepal has made in this field as well as Nepal’s firm commitment to work with all partners for a lead-free future.

Later in the day, Oli addressed the World Leaders’ Forum at Columbia University, during which he shared the struggles Nepal and Nepali people have undergone in the country’s path to democracy. In the address, he underlined his vision of ‘comprehensive democracy’, which cultivates an environment that guarantees equal rights, equal access to opportunities, social justice, and security as well as dignity for all. It aims to elevate human conscience and advance civilisation to a higher realm, Oli said, according to a statement issued by Nepal’s permanent mission in New York.

Oli also shared his vision of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’, which aims to create a society where poverty is eradicated, where everyone benefits from development and every individual lives with dignity and hope. During the discussion followed by his remarks, the prime minister highlighted Nepal’s foreign policy, development aspirations, migration issues, climate change, and governance in response to queries from the audience. The World Leaders Forum is a year-round event series at Columbia University that has hosted over 300 heads of state and world leaders from over 85 countries since it was first established in 2003 by President Emeritus Lee C. Bollinger, according to the statement.

Oli was also paid a courtesy call by Nisha Biswal, deputy chief executive officer of US International Development Finance Corporation. During the meeting, the two discussed matters of Nepal-US development cooperation including Nepal’s priorities, graduation from the LDC category and its smooth, sustainable and irreversible graduation, according to the statement.

Similarly, Minister for Foreign Affairs Rana delivered a statement at the ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) on Tuesday. In the statement, Rana expressed Nepal’s firm support for the peaceful coexistence between nations, regardless of their political, social or economic systems amid the growing geopolitical conflicts around the globe. While highlighting the challenges to protect civilians in conflicts worldwide, Rana urged for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war, and the release of hostages including Nepali national Bipin Joshi, said the statement of Nepal’s permanent mission in New York. She also reiterated Nepal’s position for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine to live in peace. Rana also served as a panelist at the High-Level Convening of the Women Political Leaders (WPL) themed ‘Representation Matters: More Women to Power, More Power to Women’.

During the discussion, she stressed the need to work towards full, equal and meaningful participation and leadership roles in public and private life while emphasising the progress Nepal has made in women’s representation. Rana also underlined the need for political and economic empowerment of women through leadership roles and equal access to policy- and decision-making processes as her priority.

Minister Rana also delivered a keynote address at the event ‘Choose Choice: Securing Reproductive Choice for the Next Generation’, where she stated that women’s reproductive choices are fundamental to their human rights, gender equality, and social justice. She stressed that Nepal has ensured the right to safe motherhood and reproductive health through constitutional provisions. While recognising a multifaceted approach is needed to address the issue and acknowledging that there’s a long way to go to achieve that, Rana also expressed confidence that Nepal’s efforts will help realise the individual reproductive choices of women and girls.