Foreign Minister Khanal calls for institutional overhaul to address climate risks

Kathmandu, September 17, 2026 — Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal has called for a rethink of Nepal’s institutional structures and diplomatic role to address the growing risks posed by climate change, saying recent disasters have exposed vulnerabilities in the country’s infrastructure and development model.

Speaking at a meeting of the House of Representatives’ International Relations and Tourism Committee on Thursday, Khanal described the recent flooding in the Bhote Koshi River as a climate disaster and referred to it as a “Himalayan Tsunami.”

He said the disaster had raised serious questions about Nepal’s long-term prosperity and infrastructure development, particularly as river corridors, human settlements, north-south transport routes and hydropower projects face increasing climate-related risks.

Khanal said traditional administrative structures alone were not sufficient to address challenges of this scale and called for a coordinated government-wide response.

“The recent disaster forces us to collectively rethink the prosperity narrative we have pursued over the past 25 years,” Khanal said. “Rather than treating this as an isolated event or the domain of a single ministry, we must address it as a national priority under a ‘whole-of-government’ approach.”

He also stressed the need to strengthen Nepal’s use of scientific information, data and evidence-based advocacy in international forums. He said platforms such as the United Nations General Assembly should be used to build broader international support for Nepal’s interests rather than focusing only on immediate agreements.