Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
Distinguished Delegates,
I come before this Assembly from a country in the Himalayas that is small in population and territory, but not in its aspirations.
Nepal comes to the United Nations at a difficult moment for our country and for the world.
Our people have suffered devastating floods, landslides and climate-related disasters.
Communities have been displaced. Infrastructure has been destroyed. Lives have been lost.
But Nepal is not here simply to ask the world for help.
We are here to ask the world to act differently.
Climate change is no longer a distant threat for Nepal. It is a daily reality.
A country that has contributed very little to global emissions should not have to pay such a high price for a crisis it did not create.
The melting of glaciers, the instability of mountain slopes, changing rainfall patterns and increasingly destructive floods are not only Nepal’s problems. They are warnings for the entire world.
The Himalayas are the source of rivers that sustain hundreds of millions of people across Asia.
What happens in the Himalayas does not remain in the Himalayas.
It affects water security, food security, energy security, migration and regional stability.
That is why Nepal proposes a partnership involving Himalayan and regional countries, the United Nations, international financial institutions, scientists and development partners for climate resilience.
We need better glacier and river monitoring.
We need cross-border early-warning systems.
We need climate-resilient roads, bridges, settlements and hydropower infrastructure.
And we need financing that reaches vulnerable countries before disaster strikes, rather than after the damage has already been done.
Climate justice must mean more than expressions of solidarity.
It must mean access to finance, technology and knowledge.
Excellencies,
Nepal’s geography has often been described as a constraint.
We see it differently.
Our location between two of the world’s great civilizations, India and China, is not a burden.
It is an opportunity.
Nepal does not want to be a buffer between powers.
Nepal wants to be a bridge between them.
We will not be asked to choose between our neighbors.
Nor do we believe that development requires us to choose one partner over another.
Our foreign policy will be guided by one principle: Nepal’s national interest comes first.
We will work with India.
We will work with China.
We will work with the United States, Japan, Europe and other partners.
We will work with everyone prepared to help Nepal build a stronger, more prosperous and more resilient country.
This is not equidistance.
It is pragmatic engagement.
It is diversification.
It is strategic autonomy.
And it is consistent with Nepal’s longstanding commitment to nonalignment, peaceful coexistence, sovereignty and international law.
Distinguished Delegates,
Nepal has another resource of enormous importance to the region: clean energy.
Our rivers can generate far more electricity than our domestic market requires.
For years, Nepal has exported people in search of opportunity.
We want to build a Nepal that can export energy, products, technology and opportunity.
Hydropower can become a pillar of Nepal’s economic transformation and a source of clean energy for South Asia.
But this requires investment.
It requires transmission infrastructure.
It requires access to regional markets.
And it requires technology and long-term partnerships.
We therefore call for greater international cooperation in developing a clean-energy corridor across the Himalayas and South Asia.
Such cooperation would not only benefit Nepal.
It would contribute to regional energy security and the global transition toward cleaner sources of energy.
Nepal should not be viewed merely as a recipient of development assistance.
We want to be a partner in solving global problems.
Excellencies,
There is another transformation underway in Nepal.
A new generation has demanded something very simple: Government must work for the people.
Young Nepalis are demanding accountability.
They are demanding an end to corruption.
They are demanding better public services.
They want jobs and opportunity at home.
They want government institutions that use technology rather than bureaucracy to serve citizens.
And they want their voices to matter.
This is not merely a Nepali demand.
It is a demand shared by young people across the world.
My government understands that political change has meaning only when it improves people’s lives.
Democracy must deliver.
Government must be accountable.
Development must be inclusive.
And technology must serve citizens rather than institutions.
We will therefore continue to pursue reforms in governance, public procurement, digital public services, investment, employment and human capital.
A country’s sovereignty is not measured only by the strength of its borders.
It is also measured by whether its citizens have dignity, opportunity and confidence in their institutions.
Mr. President,
The world is entering a period of profound geopolitical change.
The assumptions that shaped international relations for decades are being challenged.
Competition among major powers is intensifying.
Conflicts are multiplying.
Trust between nations is weakening.
And too many countries are beginning to believe that international rules apply differently depending on who has power.
Nepal cannot accept such a world.
For small states, international law is not an abstraction.
It is our protection.
The United Nations Charter is not simply a historic document.
It is the foundation of the international order in which countries—large and small—are supposed to enjoy equal sovereignty.
We therefore call for a stronger and more representative multilateral system.
The voices of developing countries must carry greater weight.
The Security Council must reflect the realities of today's world.
International financial institutions must become more responsive to the needs of vulnerable countries.
And global challenges—from climate change to pandemics, conflict and artificial intelligence—must be addressed through cooperation rather than confrontation.
Nepal believes that the answer to a fragmented world is not another sphere of influence.
It is stronger multilateralism.
Excellencies,
Nepal is a small country.
But small countries do not have small interests.
We want peace.
We want prosperity.
We want sovereignty.
We want opportunity for our young people.
We want our mountains protected.
We want our rivers to generate prosperity rather than destruction.
And we want a world in which countries are free to pursue their national interests without becoming pawns in great-power rivalry.
Nepal will remain a friend to all and an enemy to none.
We will engage with all.
We will choose cooperation over confrontation.
And wherever possible, we will build bridges rather than walls.
Our ambition is not to become a great power.
Our ambition is to become a strong, prosperous, democratic and sovereign Nepal.
A Nepal that contributes to regional stability.
A Nepal that provides clean energy.
A Nepal that helps protect the Himalayas.
A Nepal that gives its young people reasons to build their future at home.
And a Nepal that demonstrates that geography need not determine destiny.
From the roof of the world, we bring a simple message to this Assembly: The Himalayas are warning us.
Let us listen.
Let us act before another disaster becomes another statistic.
And let us build an international order in which cooperation—not power—determines our common future.
Thank you.
