Nepal Cabinet to meet in Everest's shadow: PM's office

Some 26 ministers along with officials will fly to Gorakshep in the foothills of Everest by helicopter, said Bishnu Rijal, press advisor to Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal.

"We're going to host a ministerial-level Cabinet meeting on Friday, December 4 at Gorakshep to draw the attention of the whole world" to the effects of global warming on the Himalayas, he told AFP.

"Our glaciers are melting and glacial lakes are growing and are on the verge of overflowing. That will create a Himalayan tsunami. Even though we do not contribute to global warming, our country is highly vulnerable," he said.

The U.N. talks, aimed at setting targets to curb greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, take place December 7-18.

Gorakshep, a sandy plateau 5,165 meters above sea level, is the last village before the Everest base camp and the place from where mountaineers seeking to climb the celebrated peak set out.

Originally the Cabinet planned to meet at the base camp, a little higher at 5,360 metres.

But the venue was changed because it was too difficult to fly all the ministers and officials there, Rijal said.

The announcement comes after the government of the Maldives held an underwater Cabinet meeting in October to draw global attention to rising sea levels that threaten to submerge the island nation.

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