KATHMANDU: Former President and senior CPN-UML leader Bidya Devi Bhandari departed for China on Thursday to participate in the Global Governance Forum scheduled to take place from October 23 to 25.
The forum will be held in Xiong’an, Hubei Province, China, under the theme “Rebuilding Trust and Cooperation in a Changing World.” According to Bhandari’s secretariat, she is scheduled to address the gathering as a special guest.
The visit marks Bhandari’s first foreign trip since her return to active politics as a senior leader of the CPN-UML.
The three-day forum will feature parallel sessions, panel discussions and roundtable meetings on October 24 and 25, focusing on major global political, economic and environmental challenges.
Discussions will cover the protection of the United Nations-centred international system, reforms in global peace and peacekeeping, the promotion of multilateralism, and the growing role of developing countries in international relations.
Participants will also deliberate on the role of countries in the Global South in international trade, alongside issues such as climate change, green and low-carbon development, sustainability, artificial intelligence and cyberspace.
The forum is being organised by the Chinese People’s Institute of Foreign Affairs (CPIFA), bringing together political leaders, diplomats, business representatives and media personnel from around the world.
According to information released by the CPIFA last Friday, representatives from around 100 countries, including nations from the Global South, Europe and the United States, are expected to attend the event. Bhandari is scheduled to return to Nepal next Monday.