Prez Paudel urges youth to build a prosperous Nepal

KATHMANDU: President Ramchandra Paudel has urged Nepal’s young people to take responsibility for building a prosperous nation.

Speaking at a programme organised by the National Youth Council at National City Hall to mark International Youth Day 2025 today, President Paudel said the country’s youth are now competitive enough to shape a bright future for Nepal.

He reflected on his generation’s “tremendous efforts” to establish the federal democratic republic, recalling his own upbringing in a farmer’s family in rural Tanahun district, where he “grew up battling the odds – underdevelopment, poverty and backwardness.”

The President added that despite facing tyranny, scarcities and prison sentences, his generation remained committed to political transformation.

Paudel noted that young Nepalis have already proved themselves in innovation, sport, entertainment, the IT sector and entrepreneurship. “We must join hands to leverage this potential for a better future and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals,” he said.

He said the government has prioritised concessional loans, a youth-friendly investment environment and the expansion of innovation and entrepreneurship, urging young people to seize these opportunities and establish productive businesses.

He stressed that realising youth aspirations for development, good governance and prosperity in an era of rapid globalisation and information technology is the “need of the hour”, and that policies to promote entrepreneurship are crucial to curbing brain drain.

The President described International Youth Day as a “movement to foster participation and empowerment”, highlighting its emphasis on sustainable development, unity and solidarity at local and international levels.

At the same event, Minister for Youth and Sports Teju Lal Chaudhary said the government is reforming policies and laws to create a youth-friendly environment and promote innovation and entrepreneurship, with employment creation through leadership and skill development as its top priority.

UN Resident Coordinator in Nepal Hanaa Singer-Hamdy said International Youth Day offers not just enthusiasm but also “an opportunity for collaboration and commitment”.

Vice-Chairperson of the National Youth Council Surendra Basnet described young people as “partners in the present and leaders of the future”.

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