Minister Shrestha's South Korea Visit Canceled

Kathmandu: Energy, Water Resources, and Irrigation Minister Biraj Bhakta Shrestha has canceled his visit to South Korea. Prioritizing rescue efforts, rehabilitation, and the restoration of regular electricity supply following the country's recent natural disasters and the resulting damage to the energy sector, Minister Shrestha decided to cancel his pre-scheduled trip.

The ministry currently faces the critical responsibility of effectively coordinating search and rescue operations, as floodwaters in the Bhote Koshi-Trishuli river system have caused major damage to the energy sector and left a large number of people missing.

Furthermore, Minister Shrestha decided to postpone his foreign visit to focus on restoring damaged energy infrastructure, normalizing electricity supply, facilitating affected private energy entrepreneurs, and accelerating post-disaster reconstruction and recovery efforts.

Minister Shrestha had been invited as a keynote speaker at the "Global Infrastructure Cooperation Conference 2026," held in Seoul, South Korea, from September 15 to 17.

The Cabinet had approved the visit on July 29 (Saun 13), which was set to include Minister Shrestha alongside Dirghayu Kumar Shrestha, Managing Director of the Nepal Electricity Authority, among other delegation members.