Submit your Article

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal is leaving for a seven-day official visit to China.

Issuing a statement on Thursday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Prime Minister Dahal is leaving for a seven-day official visit to the northern neighbor from September 23-30.

He is leaving for China at the invitation of his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang.

Nepal government’s ministers will also take part in the Prime Minister’s China visit.

The Foreign Minister said that Minister for Foreign Affairs NP Saud, Drinking Water Minister Mahendra Raya Yadav and Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister Prakash Jwala among others will take part in the visit.

Prime Minister Dahal, who is leaving for Hangzhou of China straight from New York on September 22, is scheduled to call on Chinese President Xi on September 23.

The next day, he will meet his Chinese counterpart, Li Qiang.

He will also meet Beijing-based National People's Congress Standing Committee Chairman Zhao Leji.

Similarly, Prime Minister Dahal is scheduled to address the China-Nepal Investment Conference jointly organized by the Nepali Embassy in Beijing.

Prior to that, he will participate in the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games to be held in Hangzhou on September 23.

Prime Minister Dahal is scheduled to visit Chongqing Municipality to observe agricultural and industrial development.

The Foreign Ministry said that the Prime Minister is also scheduled to visit Lhasa, the capital of the Tibet Autonomous Region.

He is currently in New York to take part in the 78^th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Wrapping up his seven-day visit to China, he will return home on September 30.

The Embassy of Nepal hosted a reception in Islamabad to celebrate the ninth Constitution Day of Nepal on Wednesday.

Welcoming the guests to the event and highlighting the importance of the day in Nepal’s history, Tapas Adhikari, Ambassador of Nepal to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, underlined that the Constitution of Nepal includes fundamental principles of democracy, human rights, peace, progress, equality and equity and that we have been celebrating this day as the National Day of Nepal since it was promulgated on 20 September 2015, reads a statement issued by the Embassy of Nepal in Islamabad.

Speaking on Nepal-Pakistan relations, the Ambassador said that the two countries enjoy excellent bilateral relations marked by cordiality, friendship and cooperation. He also highlighted the importance of further expanding and diversify the relations to their potentials for mutual benefits.

Calling Nepal, a hub of mountain and adventure tourism and recalling its natural and cultural beauty and diversity, the Ambassador said that Nepal was fully open to welcome tourists for adventure and various other activities.

Speaking as Chief Guest, Muhammad Sami Saeed, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, conveyed congratulations and best wishes of the Prime Minister and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the Government and the Nepali people. The Chief Guest also highlighted the excellent state of bilateral relations between Nepal and Pakistan, the statement further reads.  

Similarly, Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, Chairman Senate Defense Committee, also spoke on Nepal-Pakistan relations and shared his experience based on dozens of his visits to Nepal.

The event was attended by the leader of the opposition in the Senate and other senators, Ambassador of Pakistan to Nepal, former ministers, high civilian and military officials of the Government of Pakistan and former ambassadors of Pakistan to Nepal; Ambassadors/High Commissioners to Pakistan as well as representatives of diplomatic missions and international organizations; friends of Nepal, business and media-persons; and Nepali community members.

Earlier in the morning, the Ambassador hoisted the national flag of Nepal in the Embassy premises amidst a ceremony attended by the Nepali community in Islamabad.

The participants exchanged congratulations and best wishes during the ceremony.

Nepal Teachers’ Federation launched a Kathmandu-centric protest on Wednesday against the Education Bill tabled in the Federal Parliament, with around 15,000 teachers of government schools hitting the streets by disrupting teaching-learning activities as well as road traffic in Kathmandu in their bid to ‘teach’ some lesson to the government and the Parliament about the possible consequences of ignoring their demands.  

Per the federation, the bill has failed to address issues like job security of temporary teachers, creation of non-teaching staff positions, concerns of pre-school teachers, promotion of teachers, appointment of the principal, transfer of teachers as well as performance appraisal. The bill’s provision on empowering local units to evaluate and transfer teachers has also not gone well with the federation, which earlier boycotted a meeting that the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology had called.

The protesting teachers gathered at Maitighar Mandala and marched to Baneshwor Chowk, causing traffic congestions along various stretches, including the Maitighar-Baneshwor-Tinkune-Koteshwor section, and forcing traffic police personnel to reroute traffic.  

Meanwhile, the Kathmandu Metropolitan City has urged teachers not to disrupt teaching-learning activities. In a notice, KMC stated that the teachers’ act of depriving children of education so as to press for the fulfillment of their demands is not acceptable.

The school is a zone of peace and school closure a violation of the law, it said, calling teachers not to shut schools but to opt for some other forms of protest to raise their concerns related to professional development.

If a school within the Kathmandu Metropolitan City is closed or forced to close or if it is found that the children’s right to education has been violated by closing educational institutions, stern legal action will be taken and the concerned individual will be held fully responsible, the KMC warned.

KMC Spokesperson Nabin Manandhar said they have urged teachers to resume classes from tomorrow. “The students’ right to education should not be violated by closing schools,” he said. 

The talks between the government and the agitating teachers ended without making a concrete decision on Thursday.

The meeting between the government side and the representatives of Nepal Teachers’ Federation was held at the office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Narayankaji Shrestha in Singhadurbar this morning.

Though the meeting was held for around one hour, a teacher, who participated in the meeting, said that the talks ended inconclusively after the two sides could not  forge a consensus.

The protesting teachers said that they would continue the protest until their demands are met.

Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Shrestha, Education, Science and Technology Minister Ashok Rai and Secretary Suresh Adhikari from the government side and representatives from the Nepal Teachers’ Federation, the Nepal Teachers’ Association and the Nepal National Teachers Association on behalf of the agitating teachers were present in the meeting.

On Wednesday, hundreds of teachers associated with the Nepal Teachers’ Federation staged a protest in the Capital against the school education bill.

During the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Shrestha said that the genuine demands of the teachers will be addressed and urged not to shut down the schools.

Earlier, the teachers had boycotted the meeting called by the Ministry of Education.

Foreign Minister NP Saud met with former US Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo at the United Nations headquarters in New York on Wednesday.

Minister Saud is currently in New York to attend the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly.

During the meeting, matters related to mutual interest and cooperation between the two countries were discussed.

Nepali Ambassador to the US Sridhar Khatri was also present in the meeting.

Nepal has ratified the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty proposed by the United Nations.

Minister for Foreign Affairs NP Saud, who is in New York to attend the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations, signed the agreement on behalf of Nepal.

The BBNJ Treaty sets up a procedure to establish large-scale marine protected areas in the high seas. This facilitates the achievement of the target to effectively conserve and manage 30 percent of land and sea by 2030, which was agreed in December 2022 within the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

The agreement is intended to ensure conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The Treaty is reportedly key to protect the ocean, promote equity and fairness, tackle environmental degradation, fight climate change, and prevent biodiversity loss in the high seas.

The deadline for signing this Treaty is September 20, 2025, starting from September 20, 2023.

The Treaty is legally binding and will come into force after 60 state parties ratify it.

Minister for Foreign Affairs NP Saud has said that Nepal has given top priority to the Asian Cooperation Dialogue.

Nepal accords top priority to regional initiatives including the Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD). He was speaking at the conference of ministers of Asian countries held at the United Nations headquarters on Wednesday.

Minister Saud also added that Nepal is ready to work with all members of the ACD in accordance with its objectives and agree to successfully implement the key issues it has adopted.

Nepal became a member of the Asian Cooperation Dialogue in March 2016.

The ACD was established in June 2002 in Cha-Am, Thailand, where 18 Asian Foreign Ministers met together for the first time.

The ACD is a continent-wide forum, the first of its kind in Asia, which aims to constitute the missing link in Asia by incorporating every Asian country and building an Asian Community without duplicating other organizations or creating a bloc against others.

A key principle is to consolidate Asian strengths and fortify Asia's competitiveness by maximizing the diversity and rich resources evident in Asia.

The core values of the ACD are positive thinking; informality; voluntarism; non-institutionalization; openness; respect for diversity; the comfort level of member countries; and the evolving nature of the ACD process, it is stated in the official website of the regional body.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, who is in New York to represent Nepal in the 78th General Assembly of the United Nations, and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store held a meeting at the United Nations Headquarters on Wednesday.

During the meeting, Prime Minister Dahal and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas held important discussions on bilateral relations and multilateral cooperation.

Minister for Foreign Affairs NP Saud, Foreign Secretary Bharatraj Paudel, Joint Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sewa Lamsal were present in the meeting.