Nepal invites Modi, Imran Sagarmatha summit

BQ:

We have invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and are awaiting the confirmation. — Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, nepal minister

Kathmandu, January 24

Nepal has invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pakistan PM Imran Khan and other SAARC leaders to attend the first Sagarmatha Sambaad forum to be held here in April to deliberate on the most prominent issues of global, regional and national significance, Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali said today.

“We have invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi and are awaiting the confirmation,” Gyawali said.

He said leaders of all SAARC countries, including Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan, have been invited and Nepal would be happy to host all regional leaders so that they can have discussions amongst themselves on the challenges facing the region.

The first edition of the “Sagarmatha Sambaad” is scheduled to be held from April 2 to 4 on the theme “Climate change, mountains and the future of humanity”, he told a group of visiting Indian reporters.

The sambaad (dialogue) is named after the world’s tallest mountain Sagarmatha (Mt. Everest) which is also a symbol of friendship, Gyawali said.

The main objectives of the first edition of the event are to forge a common consensus among countries on the impending climate crisis and encourage political leaders to mobilise their political willpower to tackle its menace, Gyawali said.

It also hopes to create awareness among participants and the world about the direct relation that exists between the climate change and mountain ecology.

Nepal has the icy peaks of some of the world’s highest mountains.

The dialogue would make an effort to promote and demonstrate its resolve to make it a welcoming ground for all stakeholders for impartial, transparent, open discussion and free flow of thoughts and ideas, officials said.

To be held biennially, the dialogue hopes to draw global leaders, including heads of state/government, parliamentarians, policymakers, leaders from the inter-governmental organisations, the private sector, the civil society, think tanks, women and the media to discuss on the ways of cooperation, exchange of ideas and sharing of experiences on prominent global issues.

The member states of SAARC are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. — PTI