APC concludes issuing 7-point Kathmandu Declaration

Kathmandu, December 3 : The Asia Pacific Summit (APC) that kicked off in the capital city on December 1 has concluded on December 2 by adopting a 7-point Kathmandu Declaration.
The Summit was organized by the Universal Peace Federation (UPF); International Conference of Asian Politics (ICAP), International Association of Parliament for Peace (IAPP) and supported by the Nepal Government and the Federal Parliament of Nepal with the theme “Addressing the Critical Challenges of Our Time: Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity and Universal Values.”
Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli had inaugurated the event organized with an objective to provide a platform for discussion and deliberations on the critical challenges-including climate change-facing the humanity and the nature and to call for collaboration among one and all to address them.
The Summit attended by delegates including the parliamentarians, religious leaders of different religions, women leaders, and representatives of the media, academia, business, arts and civil society among others including notable delegates arriving in Nepal to participate in the event Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, Bharatirya Janata Party senior leader Vijay Jolly, former Indian Prime Minister H D Devegowda, former Pakistani Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani among others have agreed to take and urgent and effective action to address the critical issues related to climate change.
Former Indian Ambassador to Nepal KV Rajan read aloud the 7-point Declaration where the delegates had noted with concern the increasing threats to global security due to a variety of social, political and economic causes and stressed the need for mutual tolerance, understanding, accommodation and dialogue to resolve conflicts.
Furthermore, calling the family “the natural and fundamental group unit of society, the Declaration has agreed to promote and protect marriage institution and family culture arguing that marriage and family were crucial to achieving lasting peace and happiness in addition to advancing sustainable development.
Likewise, the Declaration has agreed to appeal the world community to study Nepal’s Peace Process which the Summit deemed very exemplary. According to the Declaration, Nepal witnessed the culmination of violence and political turmoil in a decade long conflict but later paved the path to peace bringing on board the disgruntled insurgents.
The Declaration has also underscored the necessity to include youth and students in transformational leadership roles, calling on them to practice social responsibility, moral integrity and to develop a self-governing conscience of altruism.
Moreover, the Declaration pledged to foster a culture of one global family helping people reconcile differences and overcoming divisions in human relationships at the family, social, national and world levels.
APS fruitful for World Peace
Delivering concluding remarks, CPN senior leader and former Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal asserted that the Summit was fruitful for world peace.
Similarly, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali viewed that Nepal’s peace process was a success as the political parties and the CPN Maoist party were united to resolve the conflict.
On the occasion, Minister Gyawali had shed lights on the political chronology mentioning the agreements made between then alliance of seven political parties and CPN Maoist, People’ Movement in 2062/2063 BS, Comprehensive Peace Agreement, Interim Constitution, Integration of the Army, Constituent Assembly election and the promulgation of the constitution from the Constituent Assembly among others.
Likewise South Korea’s Parliament’s Education Committee’s President Chanyeol Lee delivered his remarks on Peace, development, good governance and the role of parliamentarians and expressed his gratitude for the delegates’ concern over the peace process of the Korean peninsula.
UPF International President Dr Thomas G Walsh said that the UPF was working towards promoting world peace and development while Fijian Speaker of the Parliament Jiko Luveni illustrated the roles of the parliamentarians in peace-building and shed lights on the practices and efforts to achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).  RSS