Kathmandu, Oct. 3
Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has stressed that financial resources spent on nuclear weapons should be diverted to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the overall security and wellbeing of humanity at large.
In his pre-recorded video address to
the ‘High-level Meeting to Commemorate the International Day for the Total
Elimination of Nuclear Weapons’ the other day, he said the
world would never be a safer place as long as the specter of nuclear weapons loomed large.
Referring to the devastation caused
by the current pandemic, he cautioned that nuclear explosion - whether
accidental or intentional – could claim more lives within a wink of an eye.
“The scientific race for vaccines has
kept our hope alive to win the war against COVID-19. But no vaccine will save
us from the nuclear catastrophe,” he said, according to a statement issued by
the Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations in New York.
FM Gyawali reiterated Nepal’s call
for a time-bound, general, and complete disarmament of nuclear and other
weapons of mass destruction.
He stated that nuclear technology
should be harnessed for peaceful purposes of promoting healthcare, increasing
agricultural productivity, and saving lives. He described peaceful use of
nuclear energy and the complete disarmament as
the two sides of the same coin.
The event was held on the margins of
the 75th Session of United Nations General Assembly and featured a
total of 110 speakers including 15 heads of state/government and 64 ministers.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily 4 October 2020.
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