Kathmandu: Sunita Dangol, Deputy Mayor of Kathmandu Metropolitan City, represented Nepal’s local governments at the forum. She represented Nepal at the Cities and Regions for International Partnerships 2025 Forum, which was held in Belgium from December 8 to 10. The theme of the forum was “Localising the Global Gateway.”
The forum concluded with a high-level closing session at the European Parliament, followed by an interactive debate involving members of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR), Members of Parliament, Ministers, and other participants.
Deputy Mayor Dangol spoke during the closing session at the European Parliament and took part in the debate that marked the opening of the CoR plenary session.
In her address, Dangol highlighted that local governments are closest to citizens and that their decisions directly affect people’s daily lives. She said that global partnerships should go beyond symbolic participation and ensure that cities and regions are meaningfully involved in decision-making from the start.
She also stressed the importance of democratic and decentralised cooperation. According to her, international partnerships should not focus only on funding and infrastructure, but should also support local institutions, governance capacity, social inclusion, and people-centred development.
Deputy Mayor Dangol further noted that each local government has its own social, cultural, and governance context. Therefore, global programmes should be flexible enough to respond to local needs and realities.
Her participation at the European Parliament is an important moment. It reflects growing international recognition of the role of cities and local governments in shaping global development agendas and strengthening democratic partnerships.
This engagement also shows Nepal’s emerging role not only as a recipient of international cooperation, but as a partner that contributes local perspectives to global discussions on decentralisation, inclusive development, and sustainable partnerships.
