KATHMNDU – Speaker Dev Raj Ghimire has said the Constitution of Nepal, through fundamental rights, social justice, adult suffrage, independent judiciary and social inclusion, has united citizens in a bond of unity.
“Our parliament transformed our state structure and governance system. On the other hand, it has been making the government accountable towards the issues of the citizens” said Speaker Ghimire, “Nepal’s Federal Parliament has been the custodian of democratic norms and values.”
In his statement to the Second Conference of Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Parliamentary Network at Manama in Bahrain today, he shared NAM was created with the objectives of upholding the principles of UN Charter, supporting national independence, preserving sovereign equality and territorial integrity.
“The relevance of NAM has further increased today, as we witness instances of threats to world peace, interference in domestic affairs, inequality and unfair treatment”, the Speaker mentioned.
He further said, “The developing countries of the world are still facing the challenges of inequality in economic, social and political fronts. Until these challenges remain, NAM Member States will continue to raise voice for peace, justice and development.”
Saying Parliament is the supreme representative body of the people, Speaker Ghimire expressed the view, “People entrust parliaments with a periodic mandate to exercise their sovereignty. Every country has developed their own unique parliamentary system through their unique experiences. I believe the exchange of experiences and learnings with one another will help strengthen the parliamentary system.”
He added non-alignment is one of the fundamentals of foreign policy of Nepal, stating that the five principles of peaceful co-existence, Panchasheel, are based on the teaching of Lord Buddha, who was born in Nepal.
The Speaker further said that Nepal was looking forward to march ahead with the support and cooperation of all the friendly nations.
He also expressed the belief that NAM would be able to address our common challenges, as we hold the responsibility of expanding parliamentary diplomacy by further institutionalizing and solidifying the NAM Parliamentary Network.
Speaker Ghimire also thanked Speaker Sahiba Safarova of the Parliament of Azerbaijan for leading the initiative to establish this network by arranging a gathering of the parliamentary delegations to the 143rd IPU Assembly in Madrid in 2021.
He further said Speaker Safarova’s vision of this network has taken a comprehensive form today, expecting parliamentary exchanges to widen through this network in the days to come.(RSS)