Press release
Nepal elected to Chair the 2017 Contingent Owned Equipment Working Group at the United Nations
Ambassador Durga Prasad Bhattarai, Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations (UN) in New York was unanimously elected on 16 January 2017 as Chairman of the ‘UN Working Group on the working methods of the Contingent-Owned Equipment (COE WG)’ for 2017.
The COE WG meets every three years to review the methodology of UN reimbursement to various countries for their contributions to the UN peacekeeping operations in terms of equipment. The report of the COE WG will be the basis for an updating of the existing COE manual.
Brigadier-General Suresh Thapa and other senior officials from Nepali Army and the Permanent Mission of Nepal in New York are participating in the meeting, now in session from 16 to 27 January.
This is the first time that Nepal has been entrusted to chair the COE WG since its establishment in 1996. Nepal has been participating in UN Peacekeeping operations since 1958 after joining the UN in 1955.
While Major (Navy) K. A. Andersen of Norway has been elected Vice-Chair of the COE WG, its three technical sub-groups (namely on major equipment, self-sustainment, and medical support) will be chaired by officials from Tanzania, Ireland and Germany at the ranks of Lieutenant-General, Colonel, and Colonel (MD) respectively.
The 2014 COE WG was chaired by Ambassador David Donoghue, Permanent representative of Ireland.
The G77 Chairmanship handover ceremony held in New York
His Excellency Rafael Correa Delgado, President of the Republic of Ecuador assumed the chairmanship of the Group of 77 and China (G77) for 2017, following the transfer of the gavel from His Excellency Don Pramudwinai, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand and the Chair of G77 for 2016, amidst a ceremony held at UN headquarters on 13 January 2017.
The outgoing chair of the Group opened the ceremonial meeting and handed over the chairmanship to the incoming chair, who then presided over the remainder of the meeting, during which UN Secretary-General Mr. Antonio Guterres, and Ambassador Durga Prasad Bhattarai of Nepal (acting for the President of the General Assembly His Excellency Peter Thomson), were invited to speak. Nepal is a vice President of the 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly.
On the occasion, Permanent Representatives of Venezuela, Bangladesh and Bolivia also made statements as the Chairs of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Least Developed Countries and Land-locked Developing countries respectively, together with some other groups.
His Excellency Durga Prasad Bhattarai is concurrently accredited as Ambassador of Nepal to both Ecuador and Venezuela.
Permanent Mission of Nepal to the United Nations
New York
17 January 2017