UN Assistant Secretary-General and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and the Pacific of UNDP, Kanni Wignaraja, visited Nepal last week. During her visit, she held meetings with key politicians and interacted with policymakers and local communities, where she shared her concerns about the impact of climate change that Nepal is facing. Republica caught up with her during her visit to learn more about her observations and UNDP's possible support to Nepal, focusing on the mitigation of the impacts of climate change.

UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Assistant Administrator Kanni Wignaraja is currently in Nepal to discuss UNDP's ongoing and future collaboration with the Government of Nepal, development partners and stakeholders to firmly anchor the UN agency's next Five-year Country Program (2023-2027). The UNDP’s Country Program aims at supporting Nepal to tackle the impacts of climate change and contribute to the long-term sustainable development of Nepal. On the sideline of her marathon meetings and other engagements, Republica's Kosh Raj Koirala talked to her to understand the UNDP's priorities, support measures for the countries that are hit hard by the impact of climate change and other concurrent issues that UNDP is working on. Excerpts: