Kathmandu- Ms. Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) made her first official visit to Nepal from 16 to 18 April 2023.
In Kathmandu, Ms. Alisjahbana opened the Subregional Workshop on “Structural Transformation towards a Sustainable Graduation from Least Developed Country Category” organized by ESCAP and the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office/UN Country Team and hosted by the National Planning Commission of the Government of Nepal. Nepal will graduate from least developed country status in 2026. Sustaining the growth momentum beyond graduation requires continuous structural transformation and strengthening of productive capacities.
As part of her visit to Nepal, Ms. Alisjahbana met and discussed Nepal’s development challenges with Hon. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, Hon. Deputy Prime Minister Narayan Kaji Shrestha, Hon. Vice Chairman of National Planning Commission Min Bahadur Shrestha, Hon. Minister of Finance Prakash Sharan Mahat, Hon. Minister of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet, and Hon. Minister of Physical Infrastructure and Transport Prakash Jwala. Congratulating Nepal for its recent appointment as chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of Least Developed Countries, she highlighted ESCAP’s cooperation with the Government of Nepal in supporting Nepal’s smooth and sustainable graduation, particularly in the areas of structural transformation, sustainable transport, energy connectivity and clean (electric) cooking, disaster risk resilience, and statistics and monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Ms. Alisjahbana also met SAARC Secretary General Esala Ruwan Weerakoon and took the opportunity to examine cooperation between the secretariats of ESCAP and SAARC in South Asia.
UN Resident Coordinator Ms. Hanaa Singer Hamdy accompanied the meetings and reaffirmed the UN Country Team’s support to Nepal in accelerating the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that will facilitate Nepal’s smooth and sustainable graduation. She acknowledged the country on overcoming unprecedented challenges and expressed appreciation for initiating the formulation of the Integrated National Financing Framework, which furthers Government efforts to reorient financial resources to achieve its national goals. Recognizing the complexity of the transition to a developed country, she reiterated UN Nepal’s readiness to work with the Government, drawing on experience and expertise nationally, regionally and internationally, including through South-South and triangular cooperation.
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