Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli will depart for Turkmenistan on Sunday, leading a Nepali delegation to the Third United Nations Conference on Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDC3), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.

The conference is scheduled to take place in Awaza, Turkmenistan, from August 5-8.

Oli is attending the conference at the invitation of Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow and United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

He is scheduled to deliver an address in his capacity as the chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and also in his national capacity, the foreign ministry said.

In addition to his plenary speech, Oli will co-chair a high-level roundtable session and participate in several other official events.

On the sidelines of the conference, the prime minister is expected to hold bilateral meetings with heads of delegations from various countries, as well as senior officials from the United Nations and other international organisations.

He will be accompanied by his spouse Radhika Shakya; Chief Adviser Bishnu Prasad Rimal, lawmakers Surya Bahadur Thapa; and other senior government officials.

Oli is scheduled to return to Nepal on August 8.

A Cabinet meeting on Monday endorsed Oli’s upcoming visit to Turkmenistan, a minister said.

Nepal is currently the chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Nepal assumed the role in April 2023, taking over from Malawi. The Bureau is tasked with promoting and protecting the interests of LDCs, which are low-income countries facing significant development challenges. Nepal’s chairmanship is for a three-year term.

The conference in Turkmenistan is themed ‘Driving progress through partnerships’ and aims to address the unique challenges faced by LLDCs due to their geographic remoteness.

The event will feature political-diplomatic, trade-economic, and cultural-humanitarian activities, with over 30 heads of state expected to attend, along with leaders of international and regional organisations, organisers said.