With just nine days to go for the first edition of the Sagarmatha Sambad, its secretariat expects around 150 foreign delegates to attend the three-day event being organised under the theme of ‘Climate change, mountains, and the future of humanity.’

Sagarmatha Sambad, Nepal’s first-ever global dialogue, is scheduled for May 16-18 in Kathmandu. Inaugurating the event will be Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, who also chairs the high-level coordination committee.

According to a member of the secretariat, the 150 foreign delegates will include ministers, officials, speakers, experts, and members of delegations. There will altogether be 72 speakers in the three-day event.

Sources said Indian Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav will lead the country’s official delegation to the event, while China has yet to disclose its representative, although Chinese officials have indicated that they may give a ‘surprise’.

At least 300 foreign delegates from 50 countries were invited to attend the event, which aims to address the impacts of climate change on mountainous as well as on oceanic countries.

As the event approaches, Nepal has started the negotiation for the Kathmandu Declaration of Sagarmatha Sambad and has already sent out the text for comments and feedback from different stakeholders.

Earlier, Nepal had hoped to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the event. But during their sideline meeting at the sixth Bimstec summit in Thailand last month Modi had informed Prime Minister Oli that he had a pre-scheduled visit to Europe around the same time.

Although Nepal had requested Modi to participate, the Indian prime minister had a pre-scheduled visit to Europe coinciding with the Sambad, Oli had told journalists in Kathmandu upon his return from Thailand.

“As that programme [Europe visit] had already been set, he informed us of his inability to come,” said Oli.

Lok Bahadur Chettri, the spokesperson of the Sagarmatha Sambad, told the Post that they expect around 150 foreign delegates. Sources also said that United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is unlikely to attend due to his busy schedule.

The secretariat plans to organise a press conference soon to provide an update on the number of participants, Chettri told the Post, without giving further details.

As per the schedule, the inauguration will take place at Hotel Soaltee on May 16 where high-level delegates will deliver brief remarks of up to five minutes each. Following the inauguration, the plenary session will begin, focusing on the main theme: ‘Climate change, mountains, and the future of humanity’. Ministers of forests and foreign affairs from other countries, as well as climate change experts, will also share their perspectives during the plenary session.

Altogether, the event will feature 12 sessions across five sub-themes and three plenary sessions spread over two days. National and international guests will present their views in these sessions.

As per the Sagarmatha Sambad secretariat, the theme of the 12 plenary sessions are urgency of 1.5 degree ambition for the preservation of glaciers; connecting highlands to islands; food security and climate resilient agriculture; community-led climate initiatives in the mountains; powering the future; harnessing clean energy; exploring nature, culture and adventure in the mountains; mountain risk assessment and monitoring; addressing loss and damage in the mountains; building an inclusive future; gender and intergenerational equity; bridging science and technology for mountain resilience; and sustaining mountain economy and sustainable cities and communities.

Inspired by global platforms like the World Economic Forum of Davos, the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, and the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, the Sagarmatha Sambad was first announced by the previous Oli government in 2019, but was postponed due to the Covid pandemic.

In order to organise the event, the government has formed three committees including one headed by Prime Minister Oli, another led by Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba, and a third, in addition to a secretariat at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) under Rajkumar Shrestha, secretary at PMO.

The core objective of Sagarmatha Sambad is to build shared understanding among national and international stakeholders for immediate climate action. The event also aims to seek inclusive solutions for climate justice, advocating fair and inclusive solutions for vulnerable nations and communities.

Also, the Sambad will work to enhance global cooperation in accelerating climate finance, scale up innovative technologies, and boost capacity building. Finally, it strives to form a global coalition for taking ambitious action in preserving mountains and securing a sustainable future for humanity.