Speech by Hon. Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba Minister for Foreign Affairs of Nepal Opening Session Hindu Kush Himalaya Parliamentarians’ Meet 2025 The Soaltee Kathmandu, 18 August 2025

Rt. Hon. President Mr. Ramchandra Paudel
Hon. Ministers and Honourable Members of Parliament from the countries in the HKH region
Distinguished Delegates, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning and Namaskar!

It is both an honour and a pleasure to be part of the Hindu Kush Himalaya Parliamentarians’ Meet 2025. On behalf of the Government of Nepal, I extend my heartfelt welcome and warm greetings to all of you.

I am glad to see so many parliamentarians from across the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, alongside distinguished colleagues and friends from around the world.

Your presence not only enriches this gathering but also gives us great encouragement as we come together in the heart of the Himalayas to deliberate on issues of common concern and enduring importance for our region and our future.

This is a Parliamentarians’ Meet, and that carries special meaning.

As representatives of the people, we are entrusted with more than just the task of lawmaking. We are custodians of their aspirations and guardians of their future. Having served in Parliament before assuming my present responsibility as Foreign Minister, I deeply value the significance and responsibility that come with being a parliamentarian.

The challenges before us, climate change, biodiversity loss, and the need for clean air, demand more than government action alone. They require our leadership, our voices, our resolve and our action. As parliamentarians, we are uniquely placed to bring these pressing issues to the centre of national agendas, to shape legislation, allocate resources and support as well as hold our governments accountable.

We gather at a time when the climate crisis is no longer a distant forecast but a lived and daily reality.

The 2025 World Meteorological Organization report, featuring Nepal’s Annapurna region, shows that global temperatures have reached 1.5°C threshold for the first time in a calendar year. While the Paris Agreement’s long-term 1.5°C target is not yet officially exceeded, it remains under serious threat. Staying on this pathway requires rapid emissions reductions, lowering long-term costs and achieving SDGs.

Similarly, the recent Advisory Opinion of ICJ affirms that states have a legal duty to protect the climate, reduce emissions, adapt to impacts and prevent transboundary harm, shifting climate change from a moral or political issue to a binding legal, ethical and political obligation.

Nowhere is this urgency felt more deeply than in HKH region. In recent weeks, massive floods in India, Pakistan and Nepal have taken many lives, destroyed homes and infrastructure and left many still missing. We feel it deeply in the grief of mourning families, the displacement of communities and the loss of livelihoods.

For Nepal, these challenges have been our daily realities. Our fragile mountain ecosystems are warming nearly twice as fast as the global average. We are among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries, facing earthquakes, glacial retreat, erratic monsoons, biodiversity loss and frequent floods and landslides. Yet, Nepal’s carbon footprint remains negligible, an enduring climate injustice, as those who have contributed least bear the greatest burdens.

Nevertheless, Nepal has chosen to act with determination. We have committed to becoming a net-zero economy by 2045 under our Long-Term Strategy. We have thrice submitted ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement, and we pursue a robust National Climate Change Policy aimed at resilience-building. Yet, domestic resources alone will not suffice. Climate finance, technology transfer and capacity building are critical for meaningful progress.

In this context, I recall with pride the first edition of the Sagarmatha Sambaad, held in May 2025 in Kathmandu, where leaders, thinkers, and policymakers from around the world gathered in Kathmandu, giving birth to the Sagarmatha Call for Action, a 25-point roadmap for urgent climate action. We believe, and we continue to believe, that the highest point on Earth must also serve as a moral high ground for environmental justice.

Our role as parliamentarians has never been more vital.

Climate change respects no borders, no flags, no political divisions.

That is why we must come together, sharing experiences, learning from one another and forging solutions that are bold, inclusive and impactful.

Let this Meet be more than a platform for speeches; let it be a space for listening, for unity and for building trust. Let’s translate the ideas and commitments born here into laws, into policies, into community action and into the lives of those who look to us for leadership.

In closing, let this Meet inspire us to act together, to honour our duty to future generations and to leave behind a legacy of hope, resilience and harmony with nature in the HKH region and beyond.

Thank you, and I wish you all a successful Meet.