KATHMANDU, AUGUST 16

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dr. Narayan Khadka today received the Letter of Credentials of Ms Won Young Hong, the new Country Representative of UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, for Nepal.

During the event organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Minister Khadka and Ms. Won Young Hong both highlighted the importance of the long-standing 50-year-old partnership between the Government of Nepal and UNFPA. Both stressed on the strong partnership to effectively empower women and girls who have been most affected by the pandemic and the impact of the war in Europe so that they can fully participate and benefit from the national development.

Minister Khadka said, 'The covid19 pandemic and the on-going war have further escalated inequality and poverty globally. It demands strategic cooperation with partners like UNFPA to ensure access to quality services to all citizens, especially the vulnerable groups such as women and girls.'

Ms. Won Young Hong appreciates the renewed commitment to the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) vision during the Nairobi Summit in 2019 and reaffirmed UNFPA's support to the Government's efforts to realize the national commitments to improve Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights in the country.

She expressed an equally strong determination in realizing the three zeros (zero unmet for Family Planning, zero preventable maternal deaths, and zero gender based violence and harmful practices) central to the ICPD and attaining the Sustainable Development Goals.

'UNFPA has set ambitious targets globally to meet three zeros and these will be our priorities in Nepal. This means zero unmet need for family planning; zero preventable maternal deaths; and zero gender-based violence and harmful practices, such as child marriage.

In Nepal we remain firmly committed to these targets and we shall work to ensure women, especially young women and adolescent girls, have the tools they require, including improved sexual and reproductive health and rights and the right to live free of harm to play a fully active role in society. We very much look forward to continuing our partnership with the Government of Nepal,' Ms. Hong said.

Ms. Won Young Hong took up her new assignment as UNFPA Representative Nepal on 11 July 2022. She is a national of the Republic of South Korea with over 16 years of experience in international development. Prior to this posting she served as Representative for the Malawi Country Office and as Deputy Representative for the Mozambique Country Office.