Statement by Statement by H.E. Amrit Bahadur Rai, Ambassador/ Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations, at the opening ceremony of the International Year of Peace and Trust
Friday, 29 January 2021 New York, 9 am
3 mins
Honorable Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan His Excellency Mr. Rashid Meredov,
Excellencies, distinguished delegates,
At the outset, I would like to congratulate Turkmenistan for their great initiative to organize today’s event to launch the global campaign of the International Year of Peace and Trust.
The last one year has seen unprecedented challenges in the national and international landscapes. The loss of lives and livelihood due to the pandemic has frayed people’s trust in their governments. Similarly, there has been a question mark on the capacity of multilateral mechanisms to deliver in the time of global challenge.
Peace and trust are the foundation for both national and international peace, security and stability as well as for the achievement of higher economic development in a sustainable manner.
Every society and country has a noble duty to promote trust, harmony, religious tolerance, human rights, and a culture of peace to make the world a better place for all.
We need to strengthen people’s trust in government.
We need to revitalize our trust in multilateralism and strengthen multilateral mechanisms to foster peace, trust and friendship among the community of nations.
We need to mobilize global solidarity and international cooperation to ensure a coherent response to the pressing global challenges including climate change, pandemic, organized crimes, and terrorism.
The most pressing and immediate challenge facing humanity at this time is to ensure the availability of and accessibility to vaccines against COVID-19. We call on the international community to support COVAX and other vaccine mechanisms so that even the poor and weaker countries have access to vaccines.
Together we can build back better our society, social relations, and economy while ensuring sustainability through nature-based solutions to our developmental problems.
In the end, I am confident that the marking of 2021 as the International Year of Peace and Trust will encourage us to strengthen harmony within nations and among nations and enhance solidarity, stability, and peaceful international relations.
As a peace-loving country, Nepal always stands for the cause of peace and trust among humanity and nations.
I thank you.