Minister Gurung returns home attending WSIS+20 High-Level Event

Kathmandu: Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, returned home on Sunday after addressing the WSIS+20 High-Level Event held in Geneva, Switzerland.

The WSIS+20 is the 20-year review of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS). It was held for four days from July 7.

Minister Gurung led the Nepali delegation, attending three discussions and four major sessions. According to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), one of the co-organizers of the Event, the WSIS is an existing multistakeholder United Nations (UN) process on digital governance and cooperation with a vision of fostering people-centered, inclusive, and development-oriented information and knowledge societies.

The global event discussed how SDGs could be achieved through the use of IT and human development forwarded by leveraging artificial intelligence. In the programme, Minister Gurung put for his view on global trend of IT use and its impact and potential in Nepal.

He informed the global community on Nepal’s ongoing initiatives to bridge digital divides and accelerate IT developments, according to Minister Gurung’s advisor Dr Shaligram Parajuli. Technical support sought for national satellite project.

During his participation in the event, Minister Gurung held a strategic bilateral meeting with ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin.

The meeting centred on deepening ITU’s collaboration with Nepal, especially in technical support for orbital slot realignment to facilitate Nepal’s upcoming national satellite project. Minister Gurung acknowledged ITU’s leadership in global digital transformation and expressed Nepal’s readiness to scale up digital infrastructure, AI, cybersecurity, and e-governance initiatives in alignment with the Digital Nepal Framework.

Nepal proposed expanded cooperation in areas such as capacity building through the TU Academy, rural broadband acceleration, smart regulation, and development of LDC-based Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) models. ITU’s continued commitment to support Nepal’s digital journey was highly appreciated, and the Secretary-General reaffirmed full support.

Minister Gurung also extended a warm invitation to Madam Bogdan-Martin to visit Nepal and witness its growing digital ecosystem. The high-level engagement highlighted Nepal’s strong global presence and commitment to inclusive, future-ready digital transformation through strategic ITU collaboration.

In course of the event, he also held a strategic bilateral meeting with Mdm Rahayu Mahzam, Minister of State at the Ministry of Digital Development and Information and Ministry of Health from Singapore. The dialogue emphasized deepening digital cooperation between Nepal and Singapore in the areas of e-governance, cybersecurity, digital innovation, fintech, and green digital infrastructure.

Nepal is advancing inclusive DPI. It was informed that Nepal was advancing inclusive digital public infrastructure, AI readiness, and cloud computing while promoting BPO ecosystems and secure post-quantum preparedness. In response, Minister Mdm Rahayu, a prominent Singaporean leader known for her contributions to digital inclusivity, online safety, youth development, and women’s empowerment, welcomed the proposals and acknowledged Nepal’s growing digital aspirations. Both sides explored strategic collaboration in smart public service delivery, capacity building, fintech innovation, and sustainable cloud infrastructure.

Minister Gurung also extended, on behalf of Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, a formal invitation to the Prime Minister of Singapore for a high-level visit to Nepal to strengthen bilateral relations in this new digital era. The meeting reaffirmed Nepal’s international presence as a forward-looking digital nation and laid the foundation for a renewed Nepal–Singapore partnership for inclusive and sustainable technological advancement.

Minister Gurung’s advisor on information technology (IT), Dr Shaligram Parajuli, shared that Minister Gurung also had a bilateral meeting with Dr Cosmas Luckyson Zavazava, Director of the Telecommunication Development Bureau (BDT), ITU. The discussion focused on strengthening ITU-Nepal cooperation in accelerating digital transformation, with emphasis on inclusive connectivity, rural broadband expansion, digital public infrastructure (DPI), AI and cybersecurity capacity building, and technical support for Nepal’s satellite and orbital slot advancement.

Minister Gurung highlighted Nepal’s national priorities under the Digital Nepal Framework, including e-governance, 5G rollout, BPO-driven employment, and green digital development using clean energy. He appreciated BDT’s leadership in driving development-focused digital equity and innovation, especially for LDCs and LLDCs. Dr Zavazava reaffirmed ITU’s continued commitment to support Nepal’s digital journey through technical expertise, policy guidance, and targeted capacity-building programs.

The meeting underscored Nepal’s growing global digital presence and its aspiration to position itself as a resilient and inclusive digital nation with ITU as a strategic development partner.

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