Kathmandu, Nov 1: United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has left here today after completing a four-day official visit to Nepal.
He was bid farewell by Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka at Tribhuvan International Airport. High officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, representatives of the United Nations Office in Nepal were present on the occasion.
On the friendly invitation of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’, he came here for an official visit to Nepal. Secretary-General Guterres had separate meetings with President Ramchandra Paudel and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal during the visit.
In addition, Mr Guterres had separate meetings with Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba, CPN (UML) Chairman KP Sharma Oli, Speaker Devraj Ghimire, National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina, Deputy Prime Ministers Khadka and Narayan Kaji Shrestha and Foreign Minister Narayan Prakash Saud.
During the visit, Secretary-General Guterres also visited Mt Everest and Annapurna base areas as well as Pokhara and Lumbini. He visited the Patan Durbar Square of Lalitpur, a heritage site of historical and archaeological importance. During his visit, he addressed the joint meeting of both houses of the federal parliament.
Guterres, who visited Nepal after becoming the Secretary-General of the United Nations in 2017, discussed issues such as the Nepal’s peace process, climate change, and poverty alleviation. The visit of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Nepal after about 15 years has been viewed with importance in the diplomatic field.
The delegation led by Secretary-General Guterres was attended by United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Pierre Lacroix, United Nations Resident Coordinator for Nepal Hana Singer-Hamdy and other United Nations officials.
