Kathmandu, September 19

Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba today left for New York leading the Nepali delegation to the 72nd Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Speaker Onsari Gharti Magar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Federal Affairs and Local Development Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Education Gopal Man Shrestha, heads of constitutional bodies and heads of security agencies had reached Tribhuvan International Airport to see off PM Deuba.

The Nepali delegation to the UNGA comprises Minister for Women, Children and Social Welfare Asha Koirala, Foreign Affairs Adviser to the Prime Minister Dinesh Bhattarai, Foreign Secretary Shankar Das Bairagi, Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations in New York Durga Prasad Bhattarai, and other senior government officials.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Krishna Bahadur Mahara is already in New York for the same event.

Prime Minister Deuba will address the UNGA on September 23, and will hold bilateral meeting with the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the same day, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The 72nd Session of the UNGA convened at the UN Headquarters on September 12, while the General Debate opens tomorrow under the theme ‘Focusing on People: Striving for Peace and a Decent Life for All on a Sustainable Planet’.

On the sidelines, PM Deuba will hold bilateral meetings with Afghan President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena, Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on September 21. The following day, PM Deuba will hold a bilateral meeting with Estonian President Kersti Kaljulaid.

Among other important issues, the PM will seek support for Nepal’s bid for UN Human Rights Council membership during the meetings, senior foreign ministry officials have said.

PM Deuba will leave New York for Muscat, Oman, on Sept 24, where he is scheduled to address the heads of Nepali diplomatic missions based in the Gulf region and issue directions on matters related to promoting and protecting the interest of Nepal and Nepali migrant workers in the region. Minister for Labour and Employment Farmullah Mansur will join the delegation in Muscat.

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