‘International media briefed about Sagarmatha Sambad   

Kathmandu, Jan 24 . The government has briefed that representatives of international media about the programme ‘Sagarmatha Sambad’, going to be organised with an objective of holding extensive discussion about the national, regional, international and global-level issues of contemporary and common interests.  Sagarmatha Sambad is being held from April 2 to 4 in Kathmandu.

A team of senior journalists of India was briefed about the programme, its relevance and participation. The team of Indian senior journalists is on Nepal visit at the invitation of the government with an objective of providing information about the global-level discussion, going to be held for the first time in Nepal, and promotional publicity of Visit Nepal Year-2020.

At an interaction organised among Nepal representatives of the international media, the Rastriya Samachar Samiti and visiting Indian Journalists team at the Foreign Ministry here today, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said that the government has invited neighbouring countries, South Asian countries, BIMSTEC-member countries, mountain-countries affected by climate change and small island countries to participate in Sagarmatha Sambat programme.

Noting the topic of the discussion of the first series of the programme, to be held in every two years, would be ‘Climate Change, Mountain Eco-System and Future of Human Beings’, Minister Gyawali said that though Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, has also been invited, response from New Delhi has not been received yet.

inister Gyawali stated that mountainous countries and island nations were directly affected by the climate change and the impact of climate change was immediate and more pronounced in the high altitude mountain range like the Hindukush-Himalaya compared to other parts of the Earth due to their high altitude.

National Planning Commission (NPC) member Dr Krishna Prasad Oli, who coordinates the Dialogue, expressed the belief that the Dialogue will contribute to building a common view on the crisis of climate change among the top leadership, countries and the whole world fraternity and to confronting this crisis.

The foreign guests have been sent out invitations at three levels. Separate invitations have been sent out to the head of the state and the head of the government of the countries concerned from the side of President Bidya Devi Bhandari and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli respectively.

Invitations for participation have also been sent on behalf Convenor of Sagarmatha Sambad, Minister Gyawali to his counterparts as well as other foreign guests.

In course of the Sagarmatha Sambad discussions will be held with the countries, international organisations, civil society, researchers, experts and academic institutions, among the stakeholders, regarding the environmental, social, economic, cultural, technical and global issues and problems of concern which Nepal is also facing.

A 20-member organising committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Minister for Foreign Affairs while NPC member Dr Oli leads a 13-member Sagarmatha experts’ taskforce comprising of experts related to global warming, mountain ecology and others.   RSS