Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Kamal Thapa on Tuesday co-chaired the High-Level Leaders’ Roundtable on “Natural Disaster and Climate Change: Managing Risks and Crises Differently” in Istanbul of Turkey.

The meeting was one of the seven roundtables being organised as part of the World Humanitarian Summit.

Speaking on the occasion, Thapa shared with world leaders the experiences and lessons learned by Nepal in the process of rescue, rehabilitation, and reconstruction following the devastating earthquake that struck the country last year.

While expressing that putting in place effective policy, programme, strategy and institutional mechanism was a very important step towards developing a consistent framework for climate action and ensuring multi stakeholder partnership at the national, regional and international levels, Thapa informed the leaders in the roundtable that Nepal had a National Adaptation Plan of Action, a Local Adaptation Plan of Action, environmental and climate policies and programmes as well as Environment and Climate Change Councils at the highest level to muster political will in this area.

Emphasising the need to build back better for increased resilience at the community level to ensure quick response and avoidance of bigger losses in life and property when disasters strike, he observed that the build back better called for increased financial resources, application of technology suitable to the local situation, and increased innovation.

The roundtable was moderated by the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon who, during his remarks following the statement made by the DPM Thapa, appreciated the quick response and effective coordination of the government of Nepal in the aftermath of last year’s quakes.