Kathmandu, September 24

High officials of the United Nations have openly appreciated the contribution made by Nepal in establishing world peace through the UN peacekeeping force.

Under Secretary General of the UN Department of Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix and Under-Secretary-General of the UN Peace Operations Coordination Department, Atul Khare praised the Nepali blue helmets working in UN peacekeeping operations for their bravery, professionalism and honesty.

These officials expressed their appreciation in separate courtesy meetings on Monday with Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali who is here in connection with participating in the 74th General Assembly of the United Nations. Stating that Nepal has given high importance to the UN peacekeeping operations for international peace and stability, Minister Gyawali expressed Nepal's pledge to always extend cooperation in this task as permitted by its capacity.

"The UN's goals and objectives have been taken as the inseparable part of Nepal's foreign policy; the peacekeeping operations have been given high priority," the Minister for Foreign Affairs said, adding that Nepal's presence in high levels at the working areas and the headquarters has become inevitable on the basis of its contributions and participation.

Minister Gyawali also informed the two UN Under-Secretary-Generals that Nepal was ready if the UN requests Nepal to increase the number of its peace keeping forces. Joint Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bharat Raj Poudyal, Nepal's permanent representative to the UN, Amrit Bahadur Rai, Deputy Permanent Representative of Nepal, Ghanshyam Bhandari, among other officials were present in both the meetings.