FM Rana returns home

Kathmandu, July 11

Foreign Minister Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba returned to Nepal on Friday after attending the 44^th Session of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and a high-level ministerial conference held in Rome, Italy.

During the FAO conference, which took place from June28 to July 4, she addressed the main plenary session as well as several other high-level meetings and side events.

In her address, she informed the participants that Nepal has enshrined the right to food as a fundamental right of its citizens, backed by necessary legislation to ensure its implementation, her secretariat informed in a statement.

FM Dr. Rana said that Nepal has been ensuring safe and quality food through its Food Safety and Quality Control Policy, which incorporates regulatory standards, laboratory monitoring, and consumer protection mechanisms.

Speaking on the challenges faced by Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), Minister Dr. Rana drew the global community's attention to the impacts of climate change being borne by these nations, including Nepal.

She further stressed the need for grant-based climate finance for sustainable agricultural systems and Himalayan regions in countries like Nepal. "In particular, she urged for international climate funding to be provided as grants to help Nepal and its climate-vulnerable Himalayan regions cope with the impacts of climate change," read the statement.

While visiting Germany following her participation in Rome, FM Dr. Rana held a bilateral meeting with German Foreign Minister Dr. Johann David Wadephul in Berlin.

In the meeting, held on Tuesday, she emphasised the need to strengthen private sector networks between Nepal and Germany to boost bilateral trade, and invited German investment in areas such as chemical fertiliser production in Nepal.

She also proposed the establishment of direct air connectivity between Nepal and Germany and said that following Nepal’s graduation from the LDC category in 2026, the country expects continued support in terms of resources, technology, and financial cooperation from Germany, the European Union, and other development partners.

FM Dr. Rana informed that Nepal has already begun drafting laws in line with EU and ICAO standards, and requested Germany, as an influential EU member, to support lifting the ban on Nepali airlines.

Likewise, she requested the German government’s support for Nepal’s candidacies to the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Economic and Social Council, and as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

Minister Dr. Rana also participated in investment promotion programmes organised by the Investment Board Nepal in both Italy and Germany.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 12 July 2025.