Pakistan has used imported solar technology to respond to immediate energy costs. Bhutan and Nepal can earn from renewable electricity. Bangladesh and Sri Lanka have established export-oriented manufacturing capabilities. India is attempting to develop a broader advanced manufacturing base.
Nepal's PM proposed a "Himalayan Climate Resilience Mechanism, led by Nepal, India and China. Through this mechanism”, the countries could “share satellite data and expertise.” This could be a good initiative, as it would help predict disasters and prepare for them.
South Asia’s climate risks are shared across countries. Rivers such as the Ganga, Brahmaputra and Indus do not respect national boundaries, and torrential rains in one country can lead to floods in another. Satellite data, flood forecasts and flood warnings could, therefore, be shared to enhance disaster preparedness across the region.
The disasters at Kedarnath and Nepal should therefore be read not simply as tragedies of the past or isolated episodes of extreme weather. They are warnings from a changing mountain system. The question before South Asia is whether we will continue to respond to each disaster after it occurs, or whether we will listen to what the mountains are telling us beforehand.
Bangladesh – a country where the prime minister’s chair has alternated between two women over the past 30 years – has called upon the United Nations to lay special emphasis on forming a Women Leaders’ Network to act as a force to ensure gender equality
The Taliban has written a letter to the United Nations (UN), seeking a chance to address the ongoing UNGA session, and nominated its Doha-based leader, Suhail Shaheen, as their representative, the UN Secretary-General Office confirmed
There is no guarantee of survival for anyone nation in a world where the Maldives ceases to exist, the Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih said at the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has again raised the Kashmir issue at the United Nations but his statement was much milder compared to those he made the previous two years
The global Covid pandemic has seen a rise in child marriages, teenage pregnancies, and gender-based violence, with young girls facing the worst of the conditions, a UN envoy said today
Assistance funds established to support Small Island Developing States (SIDS) need to be “adequate, predictable, and accessible”, Maldivian President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih said while underscoring the complexity involved in the process of accessing the assistance
US President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that the Quad alliance of India, the US, Japan and Australia has been "elevated" and declared that Washington will stand up for allies and friends
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday projected a gloomy prognosis for the world warning that it was on the “edge of an abyss” and called for immediate action to save it from the plethora of crises ranging from the Covid pandemic and climate change to inequality and polarisation
The annual parade of presidents, prime ministers, princes and potentates starts off on Tuesday in New York City when they meet in person and virtually at the United Nations General Assembly to grapple with global problems, promote their own agendas and engage in diplomacy
UN Secretary Genral Antonio Guterres has appointed Nobel Laureate Kailash Satyarthi as new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Advocate ahead of the start of the 76th UN General Assembly
It is the best time to pursue a truly transformative framework by prioritizing the goals, resetting targets with deadlines and setting the strategic actions to fruitfully implement SDGs and their gradual achievements, writes Dr. Mohammad Rezaul Karim for South Asia Monitor
With Afghanistan in an economic crisis, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) has warned that 97 percent of Afghans could fall below the poverty line by mid-2022 unless the country's political and economic challenges are addressed promptly
Warning that terrorism continues to threaten Afghanistan, India has demanded that the Taliban keep its commitment to not allow the country to be used by terrorists
India has said that countries emerging into a phase of stability after UN peacekeeping operations should be allowed to set their priorities for nation-building with a “humancentric” approach
India has accused Pakistan of promoting a “culture of violence” and using the high-level UN meeting on the culture of peace for hate speech
