Kathmandu. Minister for Foreign Affairs Shishir Khanal has met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The two leaders held a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the 31st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Climate Change (COP31) in Antalya, Turkish, on Monday.

During the meeting, Foreign Minister Khanal expressed his heartfelt gratitude to Secretary-General Guterres for expressing condolences and solidarity with Nepal after the recent climate-related Bhotekoshi floods. He appreciated the Secretary-General’s contribution to multilateralism, world peace, human dignity and sustainable development while leading the United Nations.

On the occasion, Guterres lauded Nepal’s significant contribution to world peace and stability as a major contributor to United Nations peacekeeping missions.

The two sides also exchanged views on Nepal’s recovery and reconstruction efforts, the need for reforms in global governance, multi-disaster early warning system, enhancement of climate finance and climate action.

They discussed matters of regional and global importance and exchanged views on making international cooperation and multilateral efforts more effective to address the challenges of climate change.