Inspired by global platforms like the World Economic Forum in Davos, the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, and the Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi, the Sagarmatha Sambad was first announced by the previous Oli government in 2019, but was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.
The events in Davos, Singapore, New Delhi and others are jam-packed with high-level representation from abroad but the Nepal government has put the heads of Kathmandu-based diplomatic missions and donor community on the list of high-level representatives.
“These members of the diplomatic community and donor community attend regular events and dinners in Kathmandu and including them in the list of high-level delegations is a joke,” a former Nepali ambassador said. In what may be deemed the country’s diplomatic failure, no foreign head of state or government is attending the much touted Sagarmatha Sambad, a multi-stakeholder dialogue forum launched by Nepal to deliberate on the most prominent issues of global, regional and national significance.
The first edition of the flagship dialogue is scheduled to take place from May 16 to 18 on the theme “Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity”. It will be inaugurated by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in Kathmandu on Thursday.
Earlier, the government had tried hard to ensure high-level participation from India, China and other regional countries at top political level but that could not materialise due to poor diplomatic outreach. Minister for Environment Bhupendra Yadav will be representing India while Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress and former finance minister, Xiao Jie, is leading the Chinese delegation at the event.
Krishna Prasad Dhakal, spokesperson for the foreign ministry, said: “This being the first edition of the Sambad, probably the heads of state or government could not attend. But from next time, we can expect them too.”
Nepal invited several heads of state and government but not one is joining this time, Dhakal admitted.
“We tried hard but failed. Let’s hope the political leadership of other countries can join us in future editions of the Sagarmatha Sambad,” Dhakal told the Post.
UN secretary general António Guterres, one of the invited dignitaries, is not attending in person. He will address the event through a video message.
Most of the foreign delegates are either from the agencies related to the United Nations, from INGOs and the donor community, said officials. The government could not secure high-level political participation despite active efforts of the foreign ministry and the Nepali embassies.
Source: Here
