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Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Purna Bahadur Khadka today said that sensitivity of citizens worldwide has increased along with the emergence of new challenges.

In his address to the special ceremony organized by the Nepal Army on the occasion of the United Nations Day, 2023 with the slogan 'peace starts with me’ in the Capital on Wednesday, the deputy prime minister said Nepal is committed to the vision, goals and objectives of the United Nations Charter.

He expressed the view that it is necessary to reconsider how to ensure peace amid new and complex challenges in order to maintain the trust and legitimacy of the UN peacekeeping.

Minister Khadka reminded about Nepal's commitment to the ideals of the United Nations Charter and the goal of world peace.

"The United Nations Charter is a guiding principle of Nepal's foreign policy," said the minister, "Nepal has always stressed for peace and equality in the international arena. Nepal is always committed to world peace and harmony."

Mentioning that our commitment is expressed in international treaties and agreements that promote disarmament and world peace and call for the peaceful resolution of conflicts, he said our peacekeepers are continuously contributing to the establishment of peace in the United Nations.

DPM Khadka said Nepal has always accepted the tireless efforts of the United Nations for world peace, progress and prosperity. "It has been 65 years since Nepal participated in the work of establishing world peace under the United Nations. We want to thank the UN for its trust in us."

At present, Nepal ranks second among the countries that send troops to the United Nations peacekeeping missions. There is a commitment that up to 10,000 trained peacekeepers can be mobilized for peacekeeping at the call of the United Nations, he said.

Nepal is making every possible effort to send capable women to the peacekeeping by meeting the set standards as per the United Nations-wide Gender Parity Strategy, he said.

Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Shakti Bahadur Basnet has directed Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to ensure regular power supply during the festivals like Dashain, Tihar, Nepal Sambat, Chhath and others.

The Minister called the NEA executive director Kulman Ghising, deputy executive director Manoj Silwal and Chief of the NEA's load-dispatch center Suresh Bahadur Bhattarai to his office in Singha Durbar, and directed them as well as the chiefs of the NEA's distribution centers within the Kathmandu Valley to make arrangements for regular power supply.

He directed NEA to distribute maximum power to the industries and enterprises during the festival time, and also suggested that the excess power is also not wasted.

The energy minister urged NEA to make its no-light centers more responsible, to make arrangements for receiving the phone calls from customers promptly and to manage a rapid team for reaching the consumer's house within minutes in case of any problem.

Minister Basnet is also the Chairperson of the NEA Board of Directors.

On the occasion, Ministry Secretary Gopal Sigdel directed the NEA executive director and other officials to provide services keeping the consumers in the center.

Executive director Ghising informed that human resources have been managed and will be mobilized in the Valley and urban areas round-the-clock.

He said that he will be monitoring and inspecting the distribution centers during the festival time, so that there will be no complaints from consumers.

"We have made efforts as far as possible to prevent wastage of power. Preparations have also been made to supply the excess power to the Indian market, but the final consent has not been received yet (from the Indian side)," he said.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has reached Mustang on Wednesday. He landed at the Jomsom Airport at 7:45 am today.

Province In-Charge Devendra Paudel, District In-Charge Kapil Lama, Chief District Officer Janak Raj Panta and security personnel among others welcomed him at the airport.

The Prime Minister is scheduled to visit Upper Mustang and to address an interaction related to climate and a joint district assembly in Jomsom.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal has said arrangements have been made for providing the non-resident Nepali citizenship to the Non-Resident Nepalis (NRNs) after much struggle and efforts.

Distributing non-resident Nepali citizenship to the NRNs amidst a program organized at the Prime Minister's official residence in Baluwatar today, he said this is a great achievement.

"I have made a great deal of struggle and initiation to have the provision of providing the non-resident citizenship with the economic and cultural rights to the NRNs incorporated in the Constitution of Nepal. You have acquired the constitutional right on the strength of this initiation," the PM said.

Recalling that the Citizenship Bill became a law and its regulation was formulated after the Bill was endorsed by the President on the request of the new government under his leadership, Prime Minister said, "I am confident that the hundreds of thousands of NRNs in foreign land will understand the non-resident Nepali citizenship was achieved through whose struggle and initiatives. You will also explain to all friends and the Nepali community this fact and make them understand it accordingly."

He further said that many issues related to the NRNs have been addressed through the government's policies and programs, and the budget. In this connection, the minimum threshold of foreign investment has been reduced from Rs 50 million and maintained at Rs 20 million.

"Legal provisions have been made for opening the non-resident Nepalis' investment in the secondary securities market. Similarly, the decision to encompass the workers on foreign employment into the contribution-based social security program through the Social Security Fund has been implemented. This is a historical work," the PM reiterated.

According to him, so far more than 300 thousand laborer’s have joined this program and the government is convinced that this number will further increase in the coming days.

Reminding that the Nepalis spread throughout the world are Nepal's non-resident envoys, he said that the nation expected a lot from the NRNs. The PM mentioned on the occasion that the government has been collaborating with the Non-Resident Nepali Association (NRNA) since its inception. Various programs targeting the NRNs have been announced through the budget statement for the current fiscal year, he added.

NRNA Executive President Badri KC said with the distribution of Nepali citizenship to NRNs, the campaign 'Once a Nepali you always remain a Nepali' has become meaningful. 

'The citizenship is not just a paper. It's a responsibility. Nepalis living abroad should contribute to the motherland's prosperity", he stressed.

Stating that 'Diaspora' has a significant role in the country's development, President Kul Acharya mentioned that citizenship has connected people residing abroad with the motherland. 

Likewise, NRNA Founding President Upendra Mahato shared that the Non-Resident Nepali citizenship is not just a piece of paper, it is the part of the heart.

Extending gratitude towards the government and political parties for the legal arrangements to provide citizenship to NRNs, he assured that the NRNs would continuously   engage to make Nepal prosperous.