Thursday, September 5, 2019

Gyawali calls for sharing seas


Kathmandu, Sept. 4
Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali has said that Nepal was in favour of peace, security and abidance of the international laws in relation to the use of seas.
There is a need of architecture for the sharing of benefits by all states, Minister Gyawali said while addressing the fourth Indian Ocean Conference held in the Maldives on Tuesday under the theme of 'Securing the Indian Ocean Region: Traditional and non-traditional challenges'.
He emphasised the need of an architecture based on inclusiveness, partnership and collaboration among all countries and utilisation of resources and sharing of the benefits by all states, including the landlocked countries like Nepal.
Minister Gyawali called for addressing the non-traditional security threats like trafficking of drugs, weapon and human beings.
"Since Nepal's international trade passes through the Indian Ocean, we are concerned about the various non-traditional security threats, such as piracy, illicit trafficking of drugs and weapons, human trafficking," he said.
He said that collective actions are essential to address these threats in an effective manner.
According to him, with a view to connecting Nepal’s mountains with the Indian Ocean, the government has laid emphasis on establishing seamless connectivity in air, roads and waterways, aiming at facilitating trade, transit and movement of peoples.
He shared Nepal’s plan of developing inland waterways in its big rivers in cooperation with India and bringing into operation its own commercial ships in international waters.
The foreign affairs minister also drew the attention of the conference to the grave threats posed by climate change to the mountainous countries and island nations, mentioning that Nepal was bearing the brunt of the adverse impacts of climate change without being the cause for it.
In view of the ecological interdependence between the Himalayas and the Indian Ocean, he stressed the need for preserving the ecological balance in the Himalayas by addressing the adverse effects of climate change.
Minister Gyawali appealed for meaningful collaboration between mountainous, coastal and island nations to address the climate crisis.
The conference has been organised by India Foundation, the Government of the Maldives, Foreign Service Institute of the Maldives, and S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies of Singapore. Heads of State and Government, foreign ministers, other ministers, parliamentarians, ambassadors, experts and scholars from 40 countries have been taking part in it.
Meanwhile, in the afternoon the other day, Gyawali paid a call on the President of the Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
They discussed various matters of mutual interest, including promotion of tourism of both countries, employment for Nepali nationals in the Maldives, common efforts for addressing the adverse impacts of climate change, and cooperation in regional and global forums for common interest.
Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 5 September 2019. 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Featured Story

Govt prepares primary draft of DRR Policy

Kathmandu, Apr. 29: The government has prepared the preliminary report of the National Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) Policy and Strategic ...