Honourable Chair,
Honourable Ministers, Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
First of all, I wish to felicitate you, Madam Chair, on your unanimous election to the chair of this meeting and assure you of my delegation’s support for a fruitful conclusion of our deliberations throughout your tenure. I am honoured to extend to you, and, through you, to the Government and people of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, warm Congratulations and best wishes from the Government and people of Nepal, for hosting the 17th Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Summit meetings in this enchanting Island of Margarita. I also wish to thank you for the excellent arrangements made for the meeting and generous hospitality since our arrival in Venezuela.
Allow me also to put on record Nepal’s sincere appreciation for the exemplary chairmanship of the Islamic Republic of Iran since the Movement’s 16th Summit in 2012, a period which prominently included the 70th anniversary processes of the United Nations.
Chair,
The theme of today’s debate ‘Peace, Sovereignty and Solidarity for Development’goes to the heart of our group.
Righteous conduct of international relations is the hallmark of our Movement. The Movement survived the cold war bloc politics polarization maintaining that every State has the right to premise its policies and practices with national interest in mind, and not as a result of relations with a particular power bloc. While opposing racism, colonialism, foreign occupation, aggression, domination and terrorism, NAM always stood as a positive force for peaceful resolution of conflicts, disarmament, respect for territorial integrity, non-interference in the internal affairs of sovereign nations, and emphasis on economic development and social progress.
Throughout the journey, the solidarity among its members has been the mainstay of the Movement, and its principled position on sovereignty has been the bedrock of NAM’s approach to peace and development. Its accomplishments over time have been defined accordingly.
Nepal believes the Movement should continue its roles on these fronts albeit with greater coherence, greater conviction in the core principles of the Movement and greater effectiveness. Having its ideals entrenched in the United Nations (UN) Charter, NAM should do everything possible to further strengthen the centrality of the UN in global governance; with an emphasis on a strong, transparent and democratic UN, with reforms both in the structure and methods of work of its Security Council, mirroring the current world realities. Likewise, NAM must continue to play a lead role for the revitalization of the General Assembly, that is both of its plenary as well as the main committees – so as to make the UN 'fit for purpose' especially in realizing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, so that the Organisation could genuinely rise to the challenge of our time.
As a founder member, Nepal has embraced the NAM ideals as one of the guiding planks of the country’s foreign policy. The Constitution of Nepal, 2015, has a categorical guidance on this.
Being a land-locked and least developed economy emerging from conflict and hit hard by the earthquakes last year, Nepal is striving for equitable social and economic development, with gender justice and opportunities for all to grow and thrive, with human rights, and in safety and security. There is a serious gap in the means of implementation. Yet, undeterred, Nepal has been playing the role of a responsible member of the international community.
Chair,
Given the ever widening gulf between rich and poor, the world should focus on the socio-economic challenges facing the developing countries especially the inequality manifested by globalization. The economic underdevelopment, poverty and social injustice continue to grow as threats to peace and security both within and beyond national borders. More resources and means of implementation for the most vulnerable segments of society is a must to maintain tranquility and security conducive for development and peace.
More immediately, there is an obligation of our Movement and the international community to address the LDCs' aspirations of smooth and sustainable graduation as envisaged in the Istanbul Programme of Action. Realizing the sustainable development goals and 2030 Agenda can be possible only when enhanced, comprehensive and robust international support measures are put in place to bolster our development efforts.
There are too many old and emerging trouble spots in the world today, and attention of the international community keeps on shifting from one to the other. While the UN has started a process to address large movements of refugees and migrants, NAM could be instrumental in identifying the priorities of action for the UN ahead.
Nepal would like to renew the call for strengthening meaningful South-South cooperation in order to benefit from more relevant experiences, to complement the North-South cooperation, to provide safeguard from the adverse impacts ofsudden downturns in the developed economies, and to create a more robust and reliable base for sustainable development.
Global peace, security and development cannot be ensured without global cooperation in a true spirit of 'live and let live'. Nepal is a staunch supporter of peace in the world and has been a consistently significant contributor to UN peacekeeping around the world for over five decades. Nepal always supports the general and complete disarmament of all weapons of mass destruction in a time-bound and speedy manner so as to make the world safer and to make use of the saved resources for development.
Madam Chair,
In the final analysis, it is necessary to ensure the respect for diversity, promotion of cross-cultural understanding through dialogues of civilizations and cultures, and the overall promotion of peace in societies across the world. And NAM must continuously strive to remain increasingly relevant to the fast changing world, by keeping all its members together with the glue of respect for each other's sovereignty, and to mobilize the strength of its solidarity for global peace and development.
In conclusion, Chair, Nepal is of the view that NAM can and should play a prominent and leading role in defense of the interests and priorities of its sovereign members and for achievement of peace and security for humanity. Nepal beleives that through our solidarity, unity, cooperation and commitment, the multifaceted challenges we are facing today can and should be addressed more effectively than ever. Let us be resolute and rise to the occasion and demonstrate our political will and ability to continue working together for the good of all mankind, making the best use of the opportunity before us to implement the 2030 Agenda, Vienna Programme of Action, Istanbul program of action, Addis Ababa Action Agenda, Paris agreement, Sendai framework, and other global compacts meant for development. The joint coordination committee of the G77 and NAM would come handy for this purpose more often than not.
I thank you, Chair; Muchas gracias!