Boao, Chaina, Mar. 29
Nepali representatives at the annual conference of
Boao Forum of Asia (BFA) 2024 said that Nepal accorded value to multilateralism
in order to achieve national development goals.
Speaking at a session on 'Global Development
Initiative (GDI): Promoting world peace', former Deputy Prime Minister and
vice-chair of CPN-UML, Bishnu Prasad Paudel, said that Nepal values multilateralism
and remains committed to contributing actively to discussions within the GDI
framework and other international forums.
"We will work with China and like-minded
partners to further promote a development agenda that is both universal and
beneficial to all. Through open and constructive dialogue, addressing all
voices, and focusing on areas where needs are strongest, we believe the GDI can
become a powerful force for building a more prosperous, peaceful, and sustainable
future for the world," he said.
The GDI was proposed at the General Debate of the 76th
Session of the United Nations in September 2021 as a call for international
commitment to development as a priority, a people-centred approach, benefits
for all, innovation-driven development, harmony between man and nature, and
result-oriented actions, reads a UN document.
According priority to the issues like poverty
alleviation, food security, financing for development, climate change, digital
economy and connectivity, GDI, aims to accelerate the execution of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as 2030 Agenda. The GDI was
proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping at the UN's session.
Commending on China's leadership in launching the
GDI, Paudel said that its priorities strongly resonate with Nepal's own
development aspirations and priorities.
However, he maintained that a close cooperation,
knowledge sharing, and innovation promotion among the countries is needed to
meet the targets of the Initiative.
"We are confident that increased collaboration
in areas like infrastructure development, technology transfer, and capacity building
will accelerate Nepal's national development efforts. We look forward to the
GDI facilitating projects that are transformative to our economy and address
Nepal's specific development needs," said Paudel.
Likewise, he stated that to ensure the GDI's goals
of sustainable and equitable development are achieved, it is important to
acknowledge and address concerns such as transparency and debt sustainability. "Concessional
financing, knowledge sharing, and projects tailored towards the specific needs
of developing countries will not only further solidify the GDI's purpose but
also bolster trust and inclusiveness within the initiative," he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Rupak Sapkota, Foreign Affairs
Advisor to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' addressed a session at
the BFA where he highlighted Nepal's priority to multilateralism and concerns
to increasing political polarisation.
"Due to geopolitical conflicts, increasing
political polarization in world politics and poor cooperation, it is becoming
difficult to advance Nepal's international cooperation on multilateral and
economic issues as planned," he said.
Dr. Sapkota requested the international community to
help Nepal in its goal of upgrading from a Least Developed to a developing
country, addressing climate change disaster in a timely manner and achieving
overall economic development and prosperity of Nepal.
Nepal is graduating to a 'developing country' status
in 2026.
"Forums like the Boao Forum should be focused
on addressing global issues such as the economic crisis, energy and food
crisis, and the impact of climate change that the world is currently
facing," said Dr. Sapkota.
The 4-day annual conference of the BFA concluded on
Friday. The conference themed ''Asia and the World: Common Challenges, Shared
Responsibilities', brought together more than 2,000 delegates from about 60
countries in Boao, a coastal city of China.
Speaking at the closing press conference of the
Forum, its Secretary General. Li Baodong, said that the Annual Conference 2024
has achieved the goal of carbon neutrality through various ways to promote
energy conservation and emission reduction.
According to him, the BFA's conference reached a
series of consensuses including forging solidarity, cooperation and
multilaterism among the members to meet the challenges, creating multilateral
trading system based on principles of fairness and openness, helping developing
countries with green financing and promoting scientific and technological
progress and innovation and at the same time guarding against its risks.
BFA was created in February 27, 2001 as a forum to
discuss the Asian perspectives in economy development and other relevant topics
in the emerging global contexts, as an alternative of the World Economic Forum.
It aims at bringing the Asian nations together and promoting greater economic
integration in the region.
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