During the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, Nepal’s Prime Minister Balendra Shah delivered his first address to world leaders and proposed the creation of a Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism. The mechanism would be led jointly by Nepal, India and China and would aim to strengthen cooperation on climate‑related risks in the fragile Himalayan region.
Shah outlined the core functions of the proposed mechanism, including the sharing of satellite data and expertise, monitoring of dangerous glacial lakes, and the development of joint early‑warning systems. He urged that, when disasters strike, assistance should be coordinated across borders so that the Himalayas become a laboratory of international cooperation rather than a frontier of fragmented information.
The call follows the devastating flash floods that began on August 26 after an ice‑rock avalanche near the Nepal‑Tibet border. The floods destroyed towns and villages in northern and central Nepal, killing 1,452 people and leaving between 4,700 and 6,000 missing. Shah said the recovery effort will require about 10 percent of the country’s GDP and highlighted the prompt aid from India, China, the United Nations and other international partners.
In his remarks, Shah also reflected on the broader implications of climate change and global logistics. He criticized the disparity between efficient military supply chains and the broken logistics that leave farmers unable to obtain essential goods. He emphasized that climate‑related disasters and conflicts affect all countries in the region, underscoring the need for a more balanced global cooperation framework.
