PM Shah meets UN Secretary-General Guterres

NEW YORK: Prime Minister Balendra Shah met with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres early Friday morning (Nepal time).

Prime Minister Shah, who is in New York to attend the high-level week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, met Guterres at the UN headquarters at 6:30 p.m. local time, ahead of his address to the General Assembly.

Guterres expressed deep condolences over the loss of lives and property in the Bhotekoshi disaster and said the United Nations stood in solidarity with Nepal on climate issues.

Recalling his visit to Nepal as a tourist in 1978, Guterres said he would continue to support Nepal even after his retirement from office.

Prime Minister Shah thanked Guterres for his goodwill toward Nepal and congratulated him on his successful tenure.

Shah said Nepal had suffered significant losses from the Bhotekoshi disaster and added that the risk of glacial lake outburst floods remained high.

The two also discussed the resettlement of people living along riverbanks and green reconstruction. Support for extending the timeline for Nepal’s graduation from the least developed country (LDC) category was the other issue discussed in the meeting.