KATHMANDU, Oct 31: The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously endorsed Nepal’s request for a three-year extension to prepare for graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lok Bahadur Paudel Chhetri informed the media that Nepal had secured an additional three years for its graduation preparations. The deadline for Nepal’s LDC graduation has now been extended to November 24, 2029, he said at a press conference held at the ministry on Friday.
Nepal had requested the extension, citing the impacts of national and international developments. The ministry had formally written to the United Nations seeking more time.
Nepal was originally scheduled to graduate from the LDC category in November 2026. The additional time will help the country prepare for a sustainable transition to developing-country status, Chhetri said.
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At the press conference, the ministry also announced that the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD) had decided to provide US$21.6 million in assistance to Nepal to support survivors of the Bhotekoshi floods of August 26.
Nepal had submitted a special request to the FRLD on August 31, seeking prompt assistance following the glacial disaster.
Chhetri also said that preparations were underway for Nepal’s high-level participation in the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31), scheduled to take place in Türkiye from November 9 to 20. During the conference, Nepal is preparing to sign a framework agreement on climate change cooperation with the Republic of Korea.
The ministry also informed that the 10th coordination meeting between the security forces of Nepal and India—the Armed Police Force and the Border Security Force, respectively—was held in Kathmandu. The meeting focused on strengthening border security and increasing surveillance to curb cross-border crimes.
On Thursday, Foreign Minister Sishir Khanal held a meeting with representatives of relevant ministries and agencies to assess the damage caused to the Rasuwagadhi border point, discuss the reconstruction of damaged infrastructure and explore the resumption of checkpoint operations.
The ministry is also holding consultations with concerned agencies to reopen other major border points with China.
According to the ministry, 860 Nepalis who had fallen victim to online and digital fraud were rescued from Southeast Asian countries, including Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos and Thailand.
A Nepali worker was killed in a drone attack in Saudi Arabia. Efforts are underway to repatriate his body, the spokesperson said.
The first ministerial meeting of BIMSTEC member states on home affairs was held in India, with Home Minister Sudhan Gurung attending. The meeting discussed ways to strengthen regional cooperation to combat cross-border crimes, human trafficking, cyberattacks and illicit financial flows.
The ministry also informed that 250,000 passports had been printed using the new system.
