Nepal’s Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli inaugurated the first Sagarmatha Sambaad on Friday, a high-profile dialogue forum aimed at addressing global challenges, with climate change as its central theme. Despite ambitions to position Nepal as a neutral diplomatic hub, the event drew no heads of state or government, raising questions about its geopolitical traction.

The three-day summit, themed “Climate Change, Mountains and the Future of Humanity,” will feature 12 parallel sessions on issues including Himalayan ecosystem preservation, climate financing, and disaster resilience. Over 350 delegates—half from abroad—are attending, though participation from top-tier foreign leaders fell short of expectations.

According to Foreign Affairs Minister and Coordinator of the Sambaad Management Committee Dr. Arzu Rana Deuba, a total of 175 foreign guests and an almost equal number of Nepali participants will join the event. High-level delegations from 12 countries are also taking part. A video message from United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres, specifically addressed to the Sagarmatha Sambaad, will be presented later today.

Key attendees include China’s Xiao Jie, vice chairman of the National People’s Congress, and environment ministers from India, Bhutan, Azerbaijan, and the Maldives. United Nations agencies, academics, and civil society groups are also represented.

Addressing the inaugural session, Oli described climate change as the “number one threat,” citing Nepal’s receding glaciers and erratic weather patterns as urgent evidence. He said that protecting the Himalayas means protecting the Earth, oceans, and humanity. “Our homes are being swept away by landslides. Floods and droughts strike without warning. Yet, we remain resilient,” Oli said, noting that although Nepal’s emissions are low, its contributions to environmental protection are significant.

Foreign Minister Deuba echoed similar concerns in her opening remarks at the forum. “Our glaciers, which are silent symbols of a healthy planet, are melting at an alarming rate. Structures formed over millennia are now silently vanishing before our eyes,” she said. She warned that the climate crisis is threatening the very survival of mountain communities.

“Nepal, a mountainous country highly vulnerable to natural disasters, is now facing a serious dilemma. In recent years, we have witnessed extreme weather events that have had devastating impacts on people’s lives,” she added. “Floods, glacial lake outburst floods, droughts, water shortages, and forest fires have inflicted immense suffering across the country.”

Critics, however, questioned the forum’s impact, citing its failure to attract heads of state or top-level officials despite earlier suggestions that senior leaders from India, China, or the United Nations might attend.

The forum will conclude on Sunday with the Sagarmatha Sambaad Declaration and visits to Mount Everest’s base camp.