Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon. Mr. Pradeep Kumar Gyawali arrived in New York this morning, leading the Nepali delegation to the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). He is accompanied by his spouse Mrs. Saraswati Gyawali.
The Minister and his delegation were welcomed at the John F. Kennedy International Airport by H.E. Mr. Arjun Kumar Karki, Ambassador of Nepal to the United States; H.E. Mr. Amrit Bahadur Rai, Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations; and other officials of the Permanent Mission and Consulate General of Nepal in New York.
The high-level segment of the UNGA is scheduled to begin on 24 September 2019 under the theme "Galvanizing multilateral efforts for poverty eradication, quality education, climate action and inclusion". Coinciding the UNGA High-Level Week (HLW), events such as Climate Action Summit, High-Level Meeting on Universal Health Coverage (UHC), SDG Summit, Dialogue on Financing for Development as well as other regular annual events will be organized in New York.
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Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Health and Population Hon. Mr. Upendra Yadav is leading a Nepali delegation to the High-Level Meeting on UHC to be held here on 23 September 2019.
Similarly, Minister of Forests and Environment Hon. Mr. Shakti Bahadur Basnet is participating in the Climate Action Summit also scheduled for 23 September. The Hon. Minister attended in a pre-Summit event on Nature-based Solutions Momentum and spoke about the initiatives taken in Nepal to combat adverse impacts of Climate Change. Similarly, speaking at the launch of ADB’s Community Resilience Partnership Programme, he underscored the urgency to act more for reaching out to the furthest behind first.
On the sidelines of the High-Level Meeting on UHC, Nepal is also co-organizing with Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Malawi and UN-OHRLLS a high-level side event on UHC in LDCs on 23 September. The event aims at highlighting the importance of ensuring accessibility, availability and affordability of quality health services in LDCs and mobilizing national and international resources towards this end.