KATHMANDU: Kul Bahadur Gurung, General Secretary of Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA) has been nominated for the candidacy of General Representative in the management committee of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA).

Gurung was nominated during the General Assembly held online from October 23-24, 2020. Gurung from Ruby Valley, Dhading has been working in the mountain tourism sector for the last 28 years.

Issuing a press release, NMA said that Gurung is the second person to be elected in UIAA in the 48 years of history of NMA, the first one being Zimba Jangbu Sherpa, the former president of NMA. This was his second attempt to be on the UIAA committee.

The four-year term of General Representative is considered a very important opportunity to have a clear debate and proposal in the international forum on Nepal’s mountain tourism, the statement reads.

According to the statement, NMA has been managing 27 different peaks of Nepal on behalf of the Government of Nepal. It has been established as the technical wing of mountaineering for the Government of Nepal. Since the establishment, NMA is the only Association that has been conducting various mountaineering training to produce technical human resources for mountaineering in Nepal coordinating and cooperating with UIAA and UAAA as well as other different mountaineering federations.

UIAA, founded in 1932, is an international federation for climbing and mountaineering and has global presence on six continents representing 89 member associations and federations in 66 countries.

The UIAA has been recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 1995.