Kathmandu, August 22

Prime Minister Sushil Koirala has planned to visit the United States of America to take part in the 70th General Assembly of United Nations, which is kicking off in New York from the third week of September.

This year also coincides with the 60th anniversary of Nepal’s association with the global body whose membership Nepal acquired on December 14, 1955.

Preparations for PM Koirala’s visit are under way and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) is looking into it.

The prime minister’s Foreign Affairs Adviser Dinesh Bhattarai said the PM will attend the UN General Assembly provided he is still at the helm till September. “A visit from the level of prime minister is critical in this UN General Assembly because important global summits and other meetings are being held on the sidelines,” Bhattarai told The Himalayan Times.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is hosting a global South-South Cooperation Summit in New York on the margins of the General Assembly, while US President Barack Obama is organising an international conclave on UN Peacekeeping, to which Nepal has been a major contributor.

Besides, the dialogue on the Post-2015 Development Agenda is also in the list to be discussed during this General Assembly. “There are many important issues being discussed this year and we need to take part at the highest level,” a senior MoFA officer said.

The official informed that the prime minister is likely to leave for New York in the third week of September leading a compact team of his top aides, and other officials and return home in first week of October. PM Koirala will also undergo a health check-up in New York.