|
 |
Nepal-Germany Relations
Political Relations
Diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Nepal and the Federal Republic of Germany were established in 1958. Since then the relations between Nepal and Germany have been growing on the basis of friendship and mutual cooperation.
Exchange of visits has taken place at different levels. The visits have contributed to strengthen the close and cordial relations between the two countries.
Visit from the Nepalese Side
- Their Late Majesties King Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev and Queen Aishwarya Rajya Laxmi Devi Shah had paid a State Visit to Germany in October 1986.
- Prime Minister G.P. Koirala visited Bonn, Germany in 1992.
- In the course of visiting some European countries (15-27 February 1995), the then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defense and Foreign Affairs, Madhav Kumar Nepal, paid an official visit to Germany as guest of the German Government on 15-16 February 1995, and held wide ranging discussions with the prominent German leaders.
- On his way to attend the Copenhagen Summit on Social Development from 6 to 12 April 1995, the then Prime Minister Man Mohan Adhikary stopped over in Germany and held talks with journalists and industrialists there. This visit provided another opportunity to throw more light on the policies and programmes of the then Government.
- A 12-member Nepalese Parliamentary delegation led by Speaker of the House of Representatives Mr. Taranath Rana Bhat visited Germany from October 10 to 16, 1999 to participate in the 102nd session of the Inter-Parliamentary Union held in Berlin.
- The then Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala visited Hannover, Germany from 12 to 14 September 2000. Hannover hosted the famous Expo-2000. During the visit, the Rt. Hon. Prime Minister visited the Nepal Himalaya Pavilion and also the pavilion of Bhutan, India, European House and Germany. The Nepal Himalaya Pavilion stood in an area of about 2500 square metres and had a grand composite structure of the typical Pagoda temple intertwined with Stupa. A little pond in the pavilion, intricate and superb wooden architecture, live presentation of traditional pottery and wooden craft, huge monolithic sculpture of Buddha, typical Nepali food and continued presentation of typical Nepali dances attracted huge numbers of visitors. The Exposition with the theme of Humankind: Nature and Technology ran from June to October 2000 and about 150 countries participated making their own special presentation.
- Hon'ble Hari Bahadur Basnet, Minister for Industry, Trade and Supplies, visited Germany from January 17 to 20, 2004 and attended Domotex Carpet Fair.
Visit from the German Side
- The then President H E Heinric Luebke had paid an official visit to Nepal in July 1967.
- The then Chancellor H E Helmut Kohl paid an official visit to Nepal in 1987
- Mr. Carl-Dieter Spranger, the then Minister for Economic Cooperation of Germany, was in Nepal from 15 to 17 February 1994. During the visit, Mr. Spranger lauded the policies and programmes of economic liberalisation adopted by Government of Nepal.
- At the invitation of His Late Majesty King Birendra, HE Prof. Dr. Roman Herzog, the then President of the Federal Republic of Germany, and Ms. Herzog paid a state visit to Nepal from 25 to 30 November 1996.
- A 4-member German-South Asian Parliamentary Group of the German Bundestag (Lower House) led by Mrs. Brigitte Adler (SPD), Chairperson of the Group, visited Nepal from October 12 to 17, 1999. Other members of the Group included Mrs. Ingrid Holzhueter (SPD), Mr. Holger Ortel (SPD) and Mr. Peter Letzgus (CDU/CSU). The MPs were accompanied by the Secretary of the Parliamentary Group Mr. Guido Large. While in Nepal, the members of the Group paid courtesy calls on Rt. Hon. Prime Minister and Hon. Foreign Minister, met with the Members of Parliament and visited Janakpur and Lahan (Nepal-German Churia Forest Development Project).
- A 7-member delegation of the members of the German Parliament under the leadership of Mr Johannes Pflug visited Nepal from 15-18 February 2004.
Economic Relations
In 1961, the Federal Republic of Germany first provided technical cooperation for the establishment of the Technical Training Institute at Thapathali. In 1964, it provided soft loans to the Nepal Industrial Development Cooperation (NIDC). All German Cooperation is now on grants basis.
The Federal Republic of Germany is one of the major donors for Nepal's development efforts. It is also Nepal's largest trading partner after India. Since 1962, Germany has been assisting Nepal in the fields of power generation, agriculture, town development, preservation of monuments and temples, tourism, education and culture, solid waste management, promotion of small business projects, etc. These are areas, which make long-term impacts on Nepal's overall development.
At present 28 different projects are in progress under German cooperation. Some of the major ones are: Himal Cement Company, Ceramics Development Project, Small Business Promotion Project (Phase IV), Line of Credit to NIDC (V), Project Assistance for the Department of Mines and Geology, Marsyangdi Hydro Power, Livestock Breeding Project (II), SFDP (III), Dhulikhel Development, Dhading IRD (Phase II), Palpa District IRDP, Lamjung IRD, Solid Waste management and Resource Mobilization Center (IV), Joint Nepal-German Archaeological Project, Study and Expert Fund, Forestry Action Plan for Siraha, Saptari and Udayapur Districts, Reconstruction of Bridges, Basic Health Care etc. There are 15 Nepal-German joint venture projects.
Nepal-German Trade
Germany is the biggest export market for Nepali products. As per the statistics published by the Trade Promotion Centre, export to Germany was equivalent to Rs. 3,567,035,651 imports from Germany was Rs. 1,977,895,741, and the trade balance was Rs. 1,589,139,910 in Nepal's favour in 2003/04. Nepalese product's export to Germany has been declining since 1999, although Germany maintains the biggest export market for Nepali products.
Lately, the decline in the export of carpet has been the main reason for decrease in overall export to Germany. Besides carpet, export to Germany from Nepal include handicraft, silver jewellery, garments, leather, wooden and bamboo goods, lentils, tea, essential oils from herb and aromatic plants. Lately, some joint venture companies have started export of micro- transformers and high-value garments and knitwear to the German market. Nepal imports mainly industrial raw materials, chemicals, machinery equipment and parts, electric and electronic goods, vehicles etc. from Germany.
Similarly Germany's share in Nepal's overall export has been gradually going down as is evident from the following data:
Nepal's Balance of Trade with Germany:
| (Value in Nepalese Rupees) |
| Year |
Export |
Import |
Balance |
| 1999/2000 |
7,510,563,234 |
1,499,686,591 |
6,010,876,643 (+ve) |
| 2000/2001 |
6,178,556,848 |
1,687,074,032 |
4,491,482,816 (+ve) |
| 2001/2002 |
4,043,218,438 |
1,669,908,627 |
2,373,309,811 (+ve) |
| 2002/2003 |
3,555,327,416 |
2,278,356,184 |
1,276,971,232 (+ve) |
| 2003/2004 |
3,567,035,651 |
1,977,895,741 |
1,589,139,910 (+ve) |
Tourist Arrival from Germany
Apart from trade, Germany is also important for the promotion of Nepal's tourism industry. Germany ranked fourth in terms of overseas tourists visiting Nepal in the year 2000. In recent years, arrivals of tourist from Germany have seen declining. Some of the reasons cited for the decline in the German tourists are Maoist violence, lack of facilities in tourist areas outside Kathmandu and the discontinuation of Lufthansa flight in 1997.
Number of tourist arrival from Germany:
| Year |
2001 |
2002 |
2003 |
2004 |
| Number of tourist |
21,577 |
15,774 |
14,866 |
18,992 |
Prospects for Future Cooperation
Nepal relies heavily on its carpet export trade with Germany. Any slight fluctuation in the carpet trade brings a notable change in the overall export trade picture of the country. To avoid over dependency on one single product and also to diversify and promote export trade, new export products have to be developed. There are good prospects of developing garment, herbal preparations, essential oils, computer software for export to Germany. Carpet industry has developed well and this industry has to be further strengthened to ensure a healthy export without any disruption. Unplanned and low quality productions are some of the major challenges facing the industry towards its consolidation. Similarly, concerns over the exploitation of underage labour and pollution need to be quickly tackled with sincerity both by the business community and the government as well.
Europe America Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Government of Nepal
Last updated on April 3, 2006
Back to Bilateral Relations
|
|
|
