Kathmandu: Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli will travel to the US on Friday on his maiden foreign visit to attend the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly, breaking the tradition of visiting a neighbouring country first.
It will be his first foreign trip after assuming office for the fourth time in July.
Oli will address the UN General Assembly on September 26. This year's General Debate theme is “Leaving No One Behind: Acting Together for the Advancement of Peace, Sustainable Development, and Human Dignity for Present and Future Generations.” The 79th UN General Assembly will be held in New York from September 10 to 28.
Oli will attend the opening session of the General Debate on September 24 and a reception hosted by US President Joe Biden on September 25, according to a press release issued by the Foreign Ministry.
He will address the Summit of the Future as the Chair of the Global Coordination Bureau of Least Developed Countries (LDCs) in New York. He will also address the High-Level Plenary Meeting on Addressing the Existential Threats Posed by Sea-Level Rise and the High-Level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) among others.
On September 23, Oli will deliver a keynote address on "Nepal's Journey to Democracy and Economic Prosperity” at Columbia University. He will speak at the John F Kennedy Jr. Forum at Harvard University on "Nepal’s Perspective: From Transitional Justice to Climate Justice” on 27 September 2024.
He will meet United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres and hold several bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the UNGA.
Oli would be accompanied by his spouse, Radhika Shakya; Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba; the prime minister's Chief Adviser Bishnu Prasad Rimal; Foreign Secretary Sewa Lamsal; and other senior government officials.
He will return home on September 30.
Oli was supposed to visit Thailand in the first week of September to attend the BIMSTEC Summit (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation). However, after the Summit was postponed following the political developments in Bangladesh and Thailand, Oli cancelled his visit to Bangkok.