South Korea to seek international climate financing for Nepal after floods

South Korea says it will raise its voice in global forums for financial support to Nepal after the devastating floods of Aug. 26. Foreign Minister Cho Hyun made the pledge during a visit to the Himalayan country, framing the issue as a debt owed to nations vulnerable to climate change.

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The international community has a historical responsibility for the damage caused to countries like Nepal due to climate change.

“The international community has a historical responsibility for the damage caused to countries like Nepal due to climate change,” Cho said after meeting Nepal’s Foreign Minister Shishir Khanal. He said the two countries should work together to make other governments more aware of the impacts through forums such as the COP climate negotiations.

Cho added that South Korea “will raise its voice regarding the financial support Nepal should receive from the international community.” Khanal thanked Seoul for sending the Korea Disaster Relief Team, which remains deployed in the field to assist with the response and search for people missing in the Bhote Koshi River, including several South Korean citizens.

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will raise its voice regarding the financial support Nepal should receive from the international community.

Nepal’s immediate priority, Khanal said, is rebuilding infrastructure that is “resilient, durable and better.” He expressed hope that Seoul would continue supporting those efforts, and Cho guaranteed that the South Korean government would help with reconstruction.

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resilient, durable and better

The South Korean pledge comes as Nepal prepares for Prime Minister Balendra Shah to address the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Sept. 24. Shah told Nepal’s Parliament that the country could not handle the scale of destruction alone and would demand that the international community accept its share of a global “shared responsibility” to limit the effects of climate change.

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shared responsibility