A Bangladesh delegation, led by Chattogram Hill Tracts (CHT) Affairs Adviser Supradip Chakma, arrived here on Sunday afternoon to attend the Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) Parliamentarians’ Meet-2025, which is scheduled to begin on Monday.    

BNP Standing Committee Member and former Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury, Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) Debapriya Bhattacharya, Senior Joint Member Secretary of National Citizen Party Dr Tasnim Jara and its Joint Member Secretary Mir Arshadul Hoque, are among the delegation members.

The event aims to explore common understandings, dialogues and coordination among the parliamentarians of the nations in the Hindu Kush Himalaya region, it is said.    

Parliamentary representatives from Nepal, India, China, Bhutan, Myanmar and Pakistan will also join the event.

Nepal’s President Ramchandra Paudel will attend the meet as the chief guest, while Speaker Devraj Ghimire as special guest.    

An inaugural session is scheduled to begin at 9:30am (local time) and the session will be attended by the President, Speaker, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Minister for Forest and Environment, ICIMOD Director General Pema Gyamtsho and special dignitaries from various nations.    

The inaugural session will be followed by various technical sessions.    

Supported by the United Kingdom International Development (UKID) through its Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) the HKH parliamentarians’ meet 2025 aims to provide an effective platform for members of the parliaments from the HKH countries to come together, access the latest knowledge and information about the HKH region’s issues, challenges and opportunities, share experiences about the best parliamentary practices, and discuss forward-looking policy actions.

The Hindu Kush Himalaya (HKH) region is increasingly facing severe impacts of climate change, disaster risks, biodiversity loss, and pollution alongside accelerated socio-economic shifts with serious implications to ecosystems, natural resources, livelihoods and human life.

Given the significant role of parliamentarians in policymaking, legislation, and shaping public opinion, parliamentarians from the HKH countries can be crucial in advancing the region’s climate action and resilience agenda.

They need access to essential knowledge and evidence to proactively advance gender equal and social inclusive, pro-planet, pro-mountain, and pro-climate advocacy at the national, regional and global forums.

Despite sharing various environmental and socio-economic challenges, the HKH parliamentarians lack a regional platform to discuss their shared challenges and opportunities and identify solutions to address them collectively.

This knowledge-sharing and learning event aims to:

Sensitise parliamentarians to HKH’s socio-economic and ecological significance and fragility – the urgency of addressing them, the commitments under United Nations Conventions, and other multilateral environmental agreements,

Enhance parliamentarians’ understanding of the key trends and events related to climate change, biodiversity loss, and air pollution in the HKH region, as well as shared challenges, gaps, needs and opportunities, through sharing knowledge and fostering dialogue,

Familiarise parliamentarians with emerging climate, environmental and social challenges, and the impact it has on women, youth, Indigenous Peoples and local communities and their associated regional and transboundary issues and livelihood,

Facilitate knowledge sharing by exchanging experiences, ideas, and best practices, and co-identify ways, and means to address common challenges through regional cooperation,

Expected Outcomes

Engagement with parliamentarians from the HKH countries will ensure that they are:

Equipped with the knowledge and skills to advocate more effectively for mountain issues at national, regional, and international forums,

Empowered to support enabling policies, plans, and legislations to address climate, environment, and biodiversity priorities in their respective countries in alignment with regional, and global agreements,

Encouraged to explore the possibility of initiating the HKH parliamentarians’ platform to facilitate discussions on shared challenges, exchange best practices, and collaborate on collective solutions.