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Nepal has reasserted its commitment to Non-Alignment Movement’s (NAM) objectives and principles at the Ministerial Meeting of the 19th Summit of the Non-Aligned Movement being held in Kampala, Uganda. Addressing the meeting, Foreign Minister NP Saud said the constitution of Nepal itself embraces NAM principles as a basis for its foreign policy.

“We always conduct independent, objective, balanced, and non-aligned foreign policy. We never join any military alliance and never accept to be a part of the security pact of any country,” he said, hinting at the security and strategic pacts of major powers mainly of China and the US.

Over the past few years, there has been a debate in Kathmandu about America’s Indo-Pacific Strategy and State Partnership Program, and China’s Global Security Initiatives. Minister Saud’s statement is in line with Nepal’s commitment to not joining any strategic or military alliances. 

Of late, countries in the Global South, including Nepal, are facing increasing pressure from big powers, mainly the US and China, to choose their sides. Most of the time, they have stayed out of the great-power rivalry.  

The NAM summit is taking place at a time when the world is confronting multiple challenges, from the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war to escalating tensions in the Middle East and China-Taiwan dispute.  

“We are witnessing the worst nightmare in Gaza. We all have been bearing the brunt of the Russia-Ukraine war. To our dismay, geopolitical competition and polarization have resurfaced as defining features of our global political order,” said Saud. He stressed that NAM principles have become more significant than ever.  

Over the past few months, there is a growing debate in Nepal about the revision of non-alignment policy. Some politicians and experts are of the view that in the changing context, the principle of non-alignment is becoming irrelevant. Some have proposed the policy of multi-alignment without elaborating what it entails.

Many of them provide the example of India, which is sending a low-key representation to the NAM summit. But the current government led by Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has reasserted the importance of non-alignment policy. Dahal himself is attending the conference to demonstrate Nepal’s commitment.

Minister Saud said that NAM, as a strong bloc with 120 countries representing around 60 percent of the world’s population, holds “both majority and moral strengths to devise solutions to global problems that we face today, from conflicts to climate change; economic injustice to social inequality; the digital divide to debt distress, and hunger to disease.”

“NAM must play a pivotal role in promoting multilateralism, defending the UN Charter and international law, finding peaceful solutions to disputes, reforming the global financial architectures, creating a just global economic order for shared affluence,” he added.

Saud also said that NAM should focus on the achievement of SDGs and other Internationally Agreed Development Goals, including the Paris Agreement, in the spirit of leaving no one behind, embracing the power of technology to drive progress for all, and ensuring climate justice for vulnerable countries and regions. 

“We anticipate a robust cooperation framework and renewed partnership with all our development partners and fellow members of NAM, for investment, resources, capacity-building, and technologies in the true spirit of North-South, South-South, and Triangular Cooperation,” he said. 

Nepal is a founding member of the Non-Aligned Movement, which was formally established at a summit held on 1-6 Sept 1961 in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. 

Former Indian Army Chief Gen Manoj Mukund Naravane has said that China is following “wolf-warrior diplomacy” and “salami-slicing” tactics with impunity browbeating smaller neighbors.  In his memoirs ‘Four Stars of Destiny’, Naravane,  He further stated that it took the Indian Army to show to the world that “enough is enough” and challenge the “neighborhood bully”. 

“They had been following wolf-warrior diplomacy and salami-slicing tactics everywhere with impunity, browbeating smaller neighbors like Nepal and Bhutan, while staking their ever-increasing claims in the South China Sea, without having to pay any costs, especially in terms of human lives.” 

It took India and the Indian Army to show to the world that enough is enough and to challenge the neighborhood bully, he said.  Naravane, one of the foremost Army Generals, provided a gripping account of the India-China confrontation before and after the deadly Galwan Valley incident, India’s overall response to the Chinese action and how it served as a catalyst to firm up the Army’s combat readiness along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Ali Sabry is visiting Nepal on Dec 20-22 to attend the inaugural session of the Nepal-Sri Lanka Joint Commission. 

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the commission will focus on a wide range of areas of bilateral cooperation between Sri Lanka and Nepal, including trade and investment, tourism, education, defense, culture, connectivity and people-to-people contacts. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in Science, Technology and Innovation will also be signed during the visit. On the sidelines, Foreign Minister Sabry is scheduled to have bilateral talks with his Nepali counterpart Narayan Prakash Saud. He will pay courtesy calls on President Ram Chandra Paudel and Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, apart from meeting the Sri Lankan expatriate community.

Few weeks ago, I was standing in the mighty Himalayas—on an unforgettable visit to beautiful Nepal enjoying the most wonderful hospitality that I could ever imagine and I’m very grateful to the government and the people of Nepal for their warm welcome and for the opportunity that they provided to me. It is deeply shocking to learn how fast the Himalayan glaciers are melting. And deeply distressing to hear first-hand from local communities about the terrible impact on their lives.  

Nepal, and other vulnerable mountain countries, are being pounded by a crisis that is not of their making. The country has lost close to a third of its ice in just over thirty years—a direct result of the greenhouse [gas] pollution heating our planet. That means swollen lakes and rivers flooding, sweeping away entire communities. It means rising seas threatening communities around the world.  And melting is accelerating. Unless we change course, we will unleash catastrophe: The glaciers could disappear altogether. That means massively reduced flows for major Himalayan rivers like the Indus, the Ganges and Brahmaputra. Deltas decimated by saltwater.  

Low-lying communities wiped out, millions of people forced from their homes, and floods and droughts accelerated around the world. Nepal’s mountains are crying out for help and COP28 must respond. The Global Stocktake must look forward and create the conditions for a surge in global climate action in 2025 and beyond. Critically, we need this COP to deliver in three areas:  First, finance and climate justice.  There can be no climate action without the money to pay for it.  

I am calling for developed countries to clarify the delivery of the $100bn, and to produce a clear plan to double adaptation finance to $40bn a year by 2025—as a first step to devoting half of climate finance to adaptation. But those sums are dwarfed by the scale of what’s needed. So, we need the outcome of this COP to call for reform of the International Financial Institutions so that they reflect today’s world and are far more responsive to the needs of developing countries.  

And for reform of the business models of the Multilateral Development Banks so that they can leverage far more private finance at reasonable cost to developing countries like Nepal. Responding to the climate disaster shouldn’t create a financial disaster. So, we also need the outcome of the COP to support an increase in the proportion of climate finance delivered as grants and concessional finance.  And I am calling for countries to boost support for the Loss and Damage Fund. It was an extremely important decision to move forward with it, but we must allocate  money into it. 

Second, this COP needs to set the world up for emissions to plummet. The door is closing at 1.5 degrees. But a sliver of light remains. This COP outcome must set a clear expectation that countries’ 2025 Nationally Determined Contributions will align with the 1.5-degree limit, cover the whole economy, and be delivered on time.  And it must chart a course for a fair, just, and equitable transition from fossil fuels to renewables. The science is clear: ultimately fossil fuels must go.  

We need a clear commitment to double energy efficiency, and bring clean energy to all, by 2030.   And to phase out fossil fuels on a timeframe compatible with achieving the 1.5 degree goal of the Paris Agreement. Finally, the Global Stocktake must strengthen international cooperation. The goals of the Paris Agreement depend on it.  We need collaboration between the government, and between countries and companies, to drive down emissions, and to protect everyone on earth with an effective early warning system by 2027 and Nepal is an essential candidate to have an effective early warning system. The mountains are issuing a distress call. COP28 must respond with a rescue plan and let’s give our all to making that, that reality emerges from the COP.