The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that 350 guests, both domestic and foreign, will participate in the Sagarmatha Sambad. Prime Minister Oli will address the inaugural program. Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba will deliver the welcome speech at the inaugural program. 

The program will feature a video presentation of the dialogue, and will feature addresses from distinguished guests leading delegations from China and India, as well as the COP29 President and the Azerbaijani President’s representative on climate issues.

The inaugural program will conclude after the presentation of a video message sent by the UN Secretary-General, addressing the Sagarmatha Dialogue. According to information given by Foreign Minister Arzu Rana Deuba at a press conference a few days ago, the Sagarmatha Dialogue will be organized in the format of an international conference.

The theme of the Sagarmatha Dialogue is ‘Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity’. Focusing on the theme of the dialogue, opinions or thoughts will be expressed.

The three-day Sagarmatha Dialogue will have 12 sessions. All participating nations and international and regional organizations will have the opportunity to speak in these sessions. “So far, 23 delegations have been included in this list. Each delegation will get five minutes to speak,” Foreign Minister Rana said at a press conference. 

The themes of the first edition of Sagarmatha Dialogue will include limiting temperature increase to less than 1.5 degrees Celsius, sustaining mountain economies, loss and damage, connecting highlands to islands, food security and climate resilient agriculture, community-led initiatives, using clean energy to empower the future, mountain risk assessment and monitoring, sustainable cities and communities, building an inclusive future, gender and intergenerational equality, climate-induced disasters, risk reduction, and more.

The program will focus on solutions and possibilities for climate change and mountain problems through in-depth discussions, exchange of ideas and analysis among politicians, policymakers, scholars, experts, subject matter experts, and researchers.

Each session, which will last for one and a half hours, will have a moderator, a keynote speaker, and four panelists. 

The Sagarmatha Dialogue will also feature a ‘Multi-Stakeholder Roundtable under Global and Regional Partnership’. Various distinguished personalities will participate in this program. The main objective of this program is to discuss regional and international cooperation on climate and mountain issues.  

The Sagarmatha Dialogue will conclude on the third day, Jestha 4. According to Foreign Minister Rana, the ‘Kathmandu Declaration’ will be issued to announce the completion of the Sagarmatha Dialogue. 

Foreign Minister Rana has said that six other programs will be held on the sidelines of the Sagarmatha Sambad. According to which, high-level guests coming to participate in the Sagarmatha Sambad will be taken on a mountain flight to the Everest region, a ministerial meeting of countries in the Hindu Kush Himalayan region, programs related to air pollution, the Paris Agreement, Nepal’s organic tea tasting, and a visit to the Bajra Eco-School will be held. 

About 175 foreign guests will participate in the Sagarmatha Dialogue. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says that about 350 participants, including about the same number of Nepalis, will participate. High-level delegations from 12 countries will participate in it. International organizations from 61 countries will also participate in the dialogue.

Xiao Jie, Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the 14th National People’s Congress (NPC), will participate from China in the Sagarmatha Dialogue. He is also a former State Councilor and former Finance Minister of China. 

A delegation from India, led by Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Bhupendra Yadav, will participate in the Sagarmatha Dialogue. 

A delegation from Azerbaijan led by Minister for Environment and Natural Resources Mukhtar Babayev, who is also the President of COP 29, will participate in the Sagarmatha Dialogue.

Sharmin Sonia Murshid, Advisor to the Ministry of Social Welfare and the Ministry of Women and Children, will participate in the Sagarmatha Dialogue from Bangladesh. A delegation led by Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, Jem Tshering, will participate in the Sagarmatha Dialogue from Bhutan.

Minister of Tourism and Environment of Maldives Thorik Ibrahim, Deputy Foreign Minister Ekuina Akiko from Japan, Assistant Foreign Minister for Energy and Sustainability Abdullah Balala from the United Arab Emirates, Deputy Foreign Minister Baroness Susan Hayman from the United Kingdom, and Special Envoy and Deputy Foreign Minister for Climate Change Bahr Omar Al Dafa from Qatar will participate in the Sagarmatha Dialogue.

According to Foreign Minister Rana, Special Representative of the President for the Implementation of the Five-Year Action Plan for Mountainous Areas Dinara Kemalova from Kyrgyzstan, Ambassador Issa bin Saleh Al Shibani from Oman, Carlos Alberto from Brazil, Ambassador Noah Hamdi Ahmed Elgebali from Egypt, and Secretary-General of SAARC Mohammad Golam Sarwar will participate in the Sagarmatha Dialogue. 

BIMSTEC Secretary-General Indramani Pandey, Hana Singer Hamdi from the United Nations (UNCR Nepal), Martin Reiser, Regional Vice President for South Asia of the World Bank, and Fatima Yasmin, Regional Vice President for the Asian Development Bank (ADB), are expected to participate in the Sagarmatha Dialogue.  

“We firmly believe that through the Sagarmatha Dialogue, Nepal can be established in a leading role in neutral, dialogue-loving diplomacy,” said Foreign Minister Rana.