New York, Sept. 26 -- Nepal brought together an unusual coalition of mountain and island nations at the United Nations on Saturday, seeking to turn the country's recent climate disaster into a broader push for international cooperation stretching from the Himalayas to some of the world's lowest-lying countries.

Foreign Minister Shisir Khanal convened representatives from Bhutan, the Maldives, New Zealand, Samoa, Tajikistan and other countries alongside senior UN officials for a high-level meeting titled "Sagarmatha to the Sea: A Call to Action for a Climate-Resilient Future," held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

The Nepal-led gathering was built around a simple premise that borders may divide countries, but water does not....