KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 1 Aligned development of GHT stressed for further tourism promotion, development 'Our mission is to empower and equip the next generation to make significant contributions to Nepal's development' These mountaineers, who hail from Khijidemba and have successfully scaled Mount Everest at various points in time, were recognized during a program attended by several notable figures, including Minister of Tourism and Culture Badri Prasad Pandey in Kathmandu. The ceremony was also attended by Ram Hari Khatiwada, a member of the federal parliament from Okhaldhunga, lawmaker Yagya Raj Sunuwar, provincial lawmaker and former minister Pradip Kumar Sunuwar, Khijidemba Rural Municipality Chair Gambu Sherpa, and former chair Bed Bahadur Rokka. Among the honored mountaineers were Dorji Sherpa, the first from Khijidemba to scale Everest; Jangbu Sherpa who has summited the peak 22 times; Jambale Sherpa the youngest Everest summiter from Khijidemba; international mountaineering guides Lakpa Sherpa and Geljie Sherpa; Maya Sherpa, the first woman from the rural municipality to summit Everest; and Shubharaj Tamang, the first Everest summiter from the Tamang community in the area. Similarly, Kunga Sherpa, who raised the banner of Khijidemba Rural Municipality and Okhaldhunga at the summit of Everest on May 21, 2024, was also honoured and declared the tourism ambassador of the rural municipality. The rural municipalty hoped that honored mountaineers will play an active role in the future promotion of the rural municipality and contribute to policy-making decisions in the tourism sector.