Prime Minister Sushil Koirala is leaving for New York on September 19 to take part in the 69th UN General Assembly. On his way to New York, the PM will make an overnight stay in Abu Dhabi, UAE. He will be interacting with Nepali ambassadors in West Asia and Gulf countries where they will discuss the challenges faced by Nepali migrants working in the UAE.

The PM’s foreign affairs adviser Dinesh Bhattarai said Koirala wants to get first-hand information from the envoys about the problems faced by Nepali migrant workers in Gulf countries and Israel.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) is preparing to call forward ambassadors and charge d’affaires of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Israel, Bahrain and Oman to the Embassy of Nepal in the UAE, where an interaction will be held on September 19.

Koirala is set to touch down in New York on September 21. He has fixed an appointment with his doctors at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre (MSKCC) the next day. Koirala is scheduled to address the General Assembly on September 26. 

Peace and constitution making process, democratic transition of the country, Nepal’s post-2015 development agenda and target of graduating from the LDC status will be highlighted in his address, Bhattarai informed. 

On the sidelines, he will be meeting the participating Head of States/Governments of SAARC region, including Indian PM Narendra Modi and share with them the preparation for the upcoming SAARC Summit in Kathmandu this November. He will also be meeting UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and is likely to invite him to visit Nepal next year, to mark the 60th anniversary of Nepal-UN friendship. 

Koirala’s return date is yet to be fixed since it is contingent on his follow up check at MSKCC.

Published on: 21 September 2014 | The Himalayan Times