NEPAL CALLS FOR INDIA-CHINA COOPERATION ON A JOINT HIMALAYAN CLIMATE RESILIENCE INITIATIVE

September 25, 2026

NEW YORK: Nepal Prime Minister Balendra Shah has proposed a trilateral Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism involving Nepal, India and China to strengthen cooperation against climate-related disasters in the Himalayan region. He made the proposal during his maiden address to the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Shah said the Hindu Kush Himalayan region supports the water, ecosystems, agriculture and livelihoods of nearly two billion people. He called for the proposed mechanism to facilitate sharing of satellite data and scientific expertise, monitoring of dangerous glacial lakes, strengthening of early-warning systems and coordination of cross-border disaster assistance.

The proposal comes after devastating flash floods in Nepal on August 26, following an ice-rock avalanche near the Nepal-Tibet border. The resulting floods affected communities in Nepal and also caused disruption along the cross-border region, with the floodwaters continuing downstream towards India. Nepal has reported more than 1,400 deaths and thousands of people missing.

Shah said the disaster demonstrated the growing risks posed by melting permafrost, unstable mountain slopes, glacial hazards, floods and landslides. He argued that climate-related disasters require cooperation beyond national borders because Himalayan hazards can affect several countries simultaneously.

The Nepali Prime Minister also called for greater international support for the country's recovery and reconstruction. He said Nepal, which contributes less than 0.1 per cent of global greenhouse-gas emissions, faces substantial economic damage from climate-related disasters and urged greater access to grant-based climate finance.

The proposed mechanism is currently an initiative put forward by Nepal at the UN and would require agreement and participation from India and China before it could become an operational regional framework