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Speaker Devraj Ghimire has said that parliamentary diplomacy will be promoted effectively for world peace, harmony and to reduce the impact of climate change.

He said so while talking to reporters upon arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport after participating in the 148th General Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) in Geneva, Switzerland.

Speaker Ghimire said that Nepal has faced geographical and regional challenges.

He informed that there was a sideline discussion in the General Assembly regarding Nepal's participation in the non-aligned campaign and making its role effective.

A delegation led by Speaker Ghimire left for Geneva on March 21 to participate in the General Assembly held at the head office of the IPU from March 23 to 27.

In the General Assembly, Speaker Ghimire delivered a speech on behalf of the Federal Parliament on the topic of 'Parliamentary Diplomacy: Building Bridges for Peace and Understanding'.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Devraj Ghimire, has underscored the need of all political parties to move ahead with consensus for achieving prosperity.

Talking briefly to the media at Biratnagar Airport today, the Speaker of the lower house of the Federal Parliament said that the political parties needed to move ahead on the basis of consensus in plan formulation and implementation on the common topic of nation building.

He called on the political parties and all citizens to unite against the efforts being made to foment dislike towards the present political system.

"Information has been received that the government is preparing to introduce 61 bills in the current session of the parliament. Therefore, the Parliament will not have any shortage of business," the Speaker said and expressed the belief that the current session of parliament would be fruitful.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Devraj Ghimire, has said that the effectiveness of the Parliament to a large extent relies on the competency and activeness of the employees.

In a message today on the occasion of the Federal Parliament Service Day, 2080, Speaker Ghimire said that it is the responsibility of the Federal Parliament Secretariat to ensure the necessary human resources, information, technology and physical materials to the Parliament.

The parliamentary service has been separated from the civil service for effective performance of the service and to develop the parliamentary capacity and strength, so as to increase the effectiveness of oversight of the government, which is an important function of the Parliament, he said.

Article 207 of the Constitution of Nepal provides for a secretariat to operate and manage the work of the Federal Parliament and that the establishment of such a secretariat and other related provisions shall be in accordance with the federal law. The Parliament Service is a special, autonomous and professional service, which is run by a separate Act.

On this occasion, Speaker Ghimire also extended his best wishes to the staffers of the Federal Parliament Secretariat.

The Federal Parliament Service Day is observed every year on 28th of Mangsir in the Lunar calendar in commemoration of the formation of the Autonomous Parliament Service in the year 2058 BS.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire has urged the government to promptly make necessary arrangements for bringing back bodies of the Nepali people killed in the Hamas-launched terrorist attack in Israel.

In a condolence message today, he also called for the government to make arrangements for repatriating interested Nepali people staying in Israel.

He expressed deep sorrow over the loss of the lives of 10 Nepali people in the lethal terrorist attack in Southern Israel.

"I urge the government to relocate all Nepali people facing risks of potential attacks to safer places, arrange repatriation of those interested and bring back bodies of those killed in the incident to home", the message reads.

Extending wishes for the recovery of the wounded Nepali people undergoing treatment in local hospitals, he drew the government's attention towards mobilizing all mechanisms for the search of the missing Nepali people in Israel.

Russian Ambassador to Nepal Aleksei Novikov today paid a courtesy call on Speaker of the House of Representatives Devraj Ghimire. 

During the meeting held at the Singha Durbar, the two exchanged views on matters relating to Nepal-Russia relations and on the parliamentary practices in both countries.

Stating the Russian Federation is the old friend of Nepal, the Speaker said both countries enjoyed a cordial relation since they established the diplomatic ties in 1956.

He expressed gratitude for Russia's significant contributions to Nepal's development, including support provided during the 2015 earthquake and the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Russian ambassador also highlighted the importance of parliamentary exchanges between the two nations.

The Russian envoy said the Russia visit by National Assembly Chairperson Ganesh Prasad Timilsina in April was significant in this regard.

According to him, a high-level delegation from Russia is preparing to visit Nepal in the course of the implementation of bilateral agreements reached during the NA Chair's visit.

Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Speaker Devraj Ghimire held a meeting on Friday.

Speaker Ghimire had reached Baluwatar this morning to meet Prime Minister Dahal.

During the meeting, they discussed ending House deadlock and appointing presidents of parliamentary committees among other contemporary political issues, the Prime Minister’s Secretariat said.

On the occasion, Speaker Ghimire urged the Prime Minister to hold a serious discussion with the ruling and opposition parties to end the House obstruction.

“As the Speaker I took initiatives responsibly for consensus, but the positive results could not be yielded,” he said.

In response, Prime Minister Dahal said that he is positive towards opening the House.

The Prime Minister said that he would urge the opposition party leaders to end the House obstruction.

Earlier also, Speaker Ghimire had held a discussion with the senior leaders of the three major political parties to end the House impasse.

The UML has been obstructing the House proceedings for the past few days demanding formation of a high-level probe committee to investigate the gold smuggling case.

House of Representatives Speaker Devraj Ghimire and National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina met President Ram Chandra Paudel on Friday.

During the meeting, President Paudel expressed his concern over the continuous obstruction in the Parliament.

Earlier on Thursday, President Paudel had held a meeting with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal.

They had briefed the President about the House deadlock and the role of political parties.

Ghimire and Timilsina had urged the President to take an initiative to convince the opposition parties to lift the obstruction as the guardian.

They urged President Paudel to hold a discussion with all the political parties as the guardian.

In response, President Paudel said that all the parties should be united to protect the Constitution.

Following the request of Ghimire and Timilsina, President Paudel assured that he will hold a discussion with the political parties to end the House deadlock.

The main opposition CPN-UML has been obstructing the Parliament proceedings demanding formation of a high-level probe committee to investigate the latest gold smuggling case.

Chinese Communist Party leaders held a meeting with Speaker Devraj Ghimire on Monday.

A team led by Yuan Jiajun, who is also a politburo member and party secretary of Chongqing city held a meeting with Speaker Ghimire this afternoon.

Speaker Ghimire’s Secretariat said that bilateral ties, economy, trade, politics and cultural exchange among other issues were discussed in the meeting.

On the occasion, Speaker Ghimire expressed his gratitude to China for giving high importance to Nepal and paying a high-level visit.

“The high-level visit has been taking place after the visit of President Xi Jinping,” he said, adding, “I believe that the bilateral political visit will help in taking the country towards the path of prosperity.”

Saying that Nepal is a beautiful and attractive country in the world, Speaker Ghimire said that even a small help from China will help Nepal become a prosperous country.

Highlighting that Nepal has been making progress in the stability and development after the promulgation of Constitution, Speaker Ghimire stressed on the transit treaty and the need to develop the Rasuwagadhi-Kerung railway as per the agreement made by the then KP Sharma Oli-led government.

He said that China and Nepal, which are connected by mountains, rivers and religion, culture, have had harmonious relations since prehistoric times.

The visit of Li Zhanshu, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, last year and the visit of National Assembly Chairman Ganesh Prasad Timilsina a month ago have expanded the parliamentary exchanges.

Mentioning that China is the economic power of the world, Speaker Ghimire expressed his happiness for starting a model program to make Nepal a storehouse for food.

Saying that he came to Nepal at the direction of President Xi Jinping, CPC leader Jiajun said that China would help Nepal become self-reliant in food stuff.

He also announced a financial assistance of 8 million Yuan (Rs 140 million) to the Nepal government.

Leader Jiajin also extended an invitation to Speaker Ghimire for the China visit.

Speaker Devraj Ghimire has directed the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development to inform the House regarding the government's efforts so far for controlling the lumpy skin disease in cattle.

Lawmakers had called the attention of the government before this that the farmers were facing problems and bearing losses as thousands of cattle died due to the disease that has spread throughout the country as an epidemic.

The Speaker issued the directive to the Agriculture Ministry to brief the Parliament about the efforts being made by the government to control the epidemic.