18 Nov, Kathmndu:

Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has said Nepal was committed to road safety, environmental conservation and sustainable development.

Inaugurating the 9th Intergovernmental Regional Environmentally Sustainable Transport Forum in Asia here on Wednesday, PM Oli expressed hope that the Forum would be very significant for Nepal on the issues of expansion of road network, sustainable economic development and social unification.

The Forum is hosted by the Government, United Nations Centre for Regional Development (UNCRD), Ministry of Environment, and UNESCAP.
“Nepal government is committed to heading the country to modernity by building environment-friendly infrastructures of development,” the PM said, adding that Nepal wants to work in unison with the world community for the development of environment-friendly transport system.

On a different note, he said Nepal has brought the new constitution by adhering to the full democratic process, and the constitution has provided ample rights to the citizens and institutionalized republic, federalism and democracy.

He further mentioned other features of the constitution as it has provided 33 percent reservation to women at all state mechanism, and conferred special rights to the backward, suppressed and Dalits. According to him, for the environmental purity of the city area, the present government was effortful to promote electricity-driven vehicles.

On the occasion, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical infrastructure and Transport, Bijay Kumar Gachchhadar said although Nepal’s road network was spread to 50,000 km, several roads were not all-time operable. He said it was also because of difficult terrain that expansion of road network has been hampered in Nepal.

Director at UNCRD, Chikako Takase, Councilor at Japan’s Ministry of Environment, Teruyoshi Hayamizu, among others stressed on the need of sustainable development of Asia which is hit hardest with climate change.

The conference is attended by more than 120 representatives from 26 countries of Asia. RSS