Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal attends pre-COP leaders’ event in Tuvalu
Khanal highlights shared climate risks facing Himalayan and Pacific island states, calls for stronger cooperation on climate finance, adaptation and loss and damage.
Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal led Nepal’s delegation to a high-level pre-COP leaders’ event in Funafuti, the capital of Tuvalu, ahead of the 31st UN climate change conference, or COP31.
The event brought together heads of state and government and senior representatives from various countries. Khanal used the forum to highlight the shared climate risks facing mountain and small island developing states and outline Nepal’s priorities.
Speaking at several formal sessions, Khanal stressed the need for countries most vulnerable to climate change to ensure their common concerns are addressed more effectively on international platforms.
Khanal met Tuvalu Prime Minister Feleti Teo and thanked him for the warm hospitality extended to the Nepali delegation.
Khanal said the Himalayan region and small island states in the Pacific face similar risks and challenges from climate change, and called for stronger cooperation between the two sides on climate action.
During a field visit to Tuvalu’s Coastal Adaptation Project in Funafuti, Khanal met Tonga’s Prime Minister Lord Fakafanua.
The two discussed the links between the climate risks confronting high-altitude mountain ecosystems and those faced by low-lying coastal island states.
They also stressed the need for mountain and small island states to strengthen their collective voice internationally to push for effective implementation of climate finance, climate adaptation measures and loss-and-damage funding.
Khanal also held a cordial meeting with Mauritius President Dharambeer Gokhool and First Lady Brinda Gokhool.
Recalling his first foreign trip as foreign minister, which was to Mauritius, Khanal said Nepal and Mauritius shared a longstanding friendly relationship and discussed ways to deepen bilateral cooperation.
They also discussed strengthening coordination between Nepal and Mauritius on climate change and climate action at international forums.
During the field visit, the Nepali delegation observed Tuvalu’s coastal engineering and climate adaptation measures aimed at reducing the impacts of rising sea levels and increasingly intense waves.
Khanal highlighted the links between the rapid melting and retreat of glaciers in the Himalayas and rising sea levels. He said the climate futures of mountain and small island states were closely interconnected.
He also stressed the need for the international community to meet its climate finance commitments on time, adequately and equitably to help vulnerable countries cope with the adverse impacts of climate change.
Nepal has been highlighting the climate risks facing the Himalayas alongside the challenges confronting Pacific island states, including sea-level rise and coastal erosion, as shared global climate concerns.
Nepal’s participation in the high-level pre-COP leaders’ event in Tuvalu underscored its commitment to climate justice, protection of Himalayan ecosystems and the common concerns of small island developing states.
Anil Giri is a Chief Sub Editor covering diplomacy, international relations and national politics for The Kathmandu Post. Giri has been working as a journalist for more than two decades, contributing to numerous national and international media outlets.