Nepal to host ministerial meeting of mountainous countries

NEPAL: Nepal will host a ministerial conference of mountainous countries in September in a bid to forge an alliance for jointly pushing the agenda of climate change at international forums.

According to Thursday's Republica daily, a cabinet meeting has decided to hold the meeting of environment ministers in Kathmandu on September 27-28.

Spokesperson at the Ministry of Environment Meena Khanal Wednesday said the ministerial conference will discuss how to deal with the effects of climate change in mountainous countries. "The ministerial conference aims at forming an alliance of mountainous countries to strongly project the voice of mountainous countries before the world," she said.

Nepal conceived the idea of spearheading the cause of mountainous countries after the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change held in Copenhagen, Denmark last December failed to take up the issue of saving the Himalayas.

The proposed Mountain Alliance Initiative for Climate Change plans to include all Least Developed Countries (LDCs) that have high mountains.

Officials said small island nations that are vulnerable to the effects of climate change are also willing to be part of the alliance.

According to Khanal, the government plans to first hold a regional-level ministerial conference before hosting an international conference of environment ministers from LDCs with high mountains. Kathmandu, Thursday, Xinhua