PM Deuba meets Ben Wallace

British Defense Secretary, Ben Wallace held a meeting with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba, who is in Glasgow, United Kingdom, to attend a two-day summit of world leaders under the 26th Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-26).

During a meeting on the second day of the conference on November 2, Defense Minister Wallace discussed with Prime Minister Deuba the grievances and interests of British Gurkha soldiers as well as British assistance to Nepal in vaccinating against coronavirus, said Foreign Secretary Bharatraj Poudyal.

Earlier, Prime Minister Deuba attended a reception hosted by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the Prime Minister of Scotland for a limited number of heads of state and government. On the occasion, PM Deuba addressed a high-level program on forest and land use management as a distinguished panel and expressed Nepal's interest in voluntary carbon market and forest emission reduction tools, said Dr Pem Narayan Kandel, Secretary at the Ministry of Forest and Environment.

According to Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini, Managing Director of the World Bank Group Mari Pangestu discussed with Prime Minister Deuba on issues including assistance to Nepal in green development, climate change and prevention of COVID-19.

Similarly, Deputy CEO of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) Alexia Latortu met Prime Minister Deuba and discussed about the MCC Compact grant provided to Nepal.

Similarly, Prime Minister Deuba had bilateral meetings with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, Sri Lankan President Gotabay Rajapaksa and Mongolian President Ukhna Khurelsukhd on Tuesday. Kitak Lim, Secretary General of the International Maritime Organization, also paid a courtesy call on PM Deuba and talked about providing new employment opportunities to Nepalis in the maritime sector.

On November 1, the first day of the summit, he addressed the nation on behalf of Nepal. Heads of state and government of 117 countries addressed the conference. Prime Minister Deuba was scheduled to visit the Royal Botanic Gardens in Edinburgh, Scotland, on November 3 at 10:30 am local time to address the gathering. 

A delegation led by him is scheduled to return home from Edinburgh Airport via Doha, Qatar today. Prime Minister Deuba arrived in the United Kingdom on Friday night leading a Nepali delegation to attend the conference. The COP-26, which started in Glasgow on October 31, will continue till November 12.