Nepal Foreign Affairs (KATHMANDU, 2 July 2019) – Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali addressed the session on ‘Climate Change: The Next Financial Crisis?’ organized this morning during the 13th World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting of the New Champions being held in Dalian, People’s Republic of China.
According to the press release issued by the Embassy of Nepal, Beijing , the Minister underscored the need for an enhanced level of international cooperation in tackling the adverse impacts of climate change. He highlighted the important contributions of Nepal’s mountains, rivers and forests in maintaining the ecological system, and said that Nepal’s carbon emission is negligible but the ‘brunt’ we have been bearing is disproportionate.
‘It is in this light that climate justice must be promoted and that access to technology must be made easy and affordable’, he said. Minister Gyawali also attended the opening plenary, which featured addresses by Li Keqiang, the Premier of China, and Professor Klaus Schwab, the Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum.
Minister Gyawali also participated, as a panelist, in the session on ‘Geopolitical Shifts’. While referring to rising geopolitical complexities and uncertainties, he underscored the need for promoting greater mutual trust and understanding among nations, as well as deeper levels of co-operation and collaborative efforts, for ensuring sustainable world peace.
He stated that as problems confronting the world are increasingly broader and deeper both in their scope and magnitude, a rules-based international order- not ‘deals-based relations’ was crucial in sustaining and nurturing global peace, harmony and co-operation. On the margins of the Annual Meeting, Gyawali held a meeting with WEF President Borge Brende.
Ways to enhance further cooperation between Nepal and World Economic Forum, especially in the areas of research and capacity building, were discussed in the meeting. In all his engagements, Minister Gyawali was accompanied by Ambassador Leela Mani Paudyal and officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.