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Nepal-United States of America Relations
Historical Background
The relations between Nepal and the United States of America (USA) date back to the fag end of the Rana regime. The USA is the second country after the United Kingdom with which Nepal entered into diplomatic relations on 25 April 1947. In 1953 the relations between the two countries were upgraded to Ambassadorial level. General Shanker Shumsher, Royal Nepalese Ambassador resident in London presented his Letters of Credence as the first Royal Nepalese Ambassador to the United State on February 24, 1953, while Mr. Chester Bowles, Ambassador of the USA resident in New Delhi became the first American Ambassador to Nepal. Mr. Bowles presented his Letters of Credence to His Majesty the King on February 16, 1952.
Nepal established its Embassy in Washington D.C. on 3 February 1958. Mr. Rishikesh Shah became the first resident Royal Nepalese Ambassador to the USA. Mr. Shah presented his Letter of Credence on October 27, 1958. The US government opened its Embassy in Kathmandu on 6 August 1959. H.E. Mr. Henry E. Stebbins was the first resident US Ambassador to Nepal. Mr. Stebbins presented his Letter of Credence on November 25, 1959.
Over the period of time the relations between the two countries have been widened, diversified and deepened. Growing cooperation, high level visits to and from both countries, and exchange and sharing of views on various issues of mutual concern at bilateral, regional and international levels have further strengthened to our mutual satisfaction. US assistance in development endeavours of Nepal has been instrumental. The American development assistance is concentrated on the sectors of education, health, environment and agriculture. US assistance also comes through other Non-Governmental Organisations for the development activities of Nepal. The social service of the Peace Corps Volunteers in the remote parts of Nepal is instrumental to enhance people-to- people contacts and understanding.
Exchange of Visits
Exchange of high level visits has significantly contributed to strengthen the Nepal-US relations.
Important visit to Nepal from the US side
- US First Lady Hillary R. Clinton and Chelsea Clinton visited Nepal in 1995.
- US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, Mr. Karl Indurfurth visited Nepal from 9 to10 September 1997.
- US Senator Charles Robb visited Nepal on Nov 27, 1997 and called on the then Prime Minister Surya Bahadur Thapa. During this visit, Senator Robb also met Chief of Army Staff Gen. Dharmapal Bar Singh Thapa.
- Senator Thomas A. Dachle, Minority Leader of the US Senate visited Nepal from 12 to13 January 2000 leading a delegation of Senators.
- Senator Thomas A. Brownback, Chairman of the South Asian Subcommittee paid a visit to Nepal in January 2000 and discussed regional situation as well as bilateral relations. Likewise Commander of the US Pacific Command participated in the Multi-platoon training event organized by the Royal Nepal Army at Panchkhal in January 2000.
- US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Mr. Karl F. Inderfurth and US Assistant Secretary of State for Refugees and Migration Ms. Julia V. Taft paid a visit to Nepal from November 30 to December 3, 2000. The Assistant Secretaries paid a courtesy call on the then Prime Minister and the then Foreign Minister. On those occasions, issues of bilateral interests and regional and international situation were discussed.
- Mr. Alan W. Eastham, Acting Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs, visited Nepal in April 2001 and held discussions with high-level officials of Government of Nepal on bilateral relations.
- The US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Mrs. Christina B. Rocca paid a visit to Nepal at the end of July 2001 and held discussions with high-ranking officials of Government of Nepal. She was granted an audience by His Majesty the King. She also paid a courtesy call on the then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba. She also visited Nepal in January 2000, December 2002, December 2003, and May 2005.
- The US Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South Asian Affairs Mr. Donald Camp paid a visit to Nepal in December 2001 and October 2002. In the capacity of Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs of the State Department Mr. Camp visited Nepal from October 7 to 9, 2004, June 26 -28, 2005 and March 8-9, 2006.
- U.S. Secretary of State Gen. Colin L. Powell paid an Official Visit to Nepal from 18 to 19 January 2002. He was accompanied by Mr. Alan Larson, Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Mr. Richard Boucher, Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs, Ms. Christina B. Rocca, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia and Vice Admiral Walter Doran, Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The Secretary of State had an audience with His Majesty the King. He held official talks with the then Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Sher Bahadur Deuba. He also had a meeting with the then Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Prajwolla Shumshere J. B. Rana. During the meetings both sides reviewed the status of bilateral relations and ways of further strengthening and expanding the friendly ties between the two countries. The two sides exchanged views on economic cooperation, commercial interaction, and contacts as well as current trends on international relations.
- Ms. Michael Sisson, Principal Deputy Assistant For South Asia Bureau, US Department of State visited Nepal in February, 2004 and had a meeting with Dr. Bhekh B. Thapa, Ambassador-at-Large.
- Ambassador J. Cofer Black, US Coordinator, Office of the Counter Terrorism, Department of State visited Nepal in March, 2004 and held meetings with Dr. Bhekh B. Thapa, Ambassador-at-Large, Foreign Secretary, and Royal Nepalese Army and Police officials.
- Mr. Torkel Patterson, Deputy Assistant Secretary for South Asian Affairs, Department of State paid a visit to Nepal in March, 2004. He had an audience with His Majesty the King and he paid call on to the then Prime Minister Mr. Surya Bahadur Thapa, and Foreign Minister Dr. Bhekh B. Thapa.
- A three-member congressional delegation comprised of Congressman Mr. David Dreier (Republican), Chairman of the House Rules Committee, Congresswoman Mr. Karen McCarthy (Democrat), member of Energy & Commerce Committee, and Congresswoman Ms. Grace Napolitano (Democrat), member of the Resources Committee, Small Business Committee, and House International Relations Committee visited Nepal from 8 to 10 April, 2004. During their visit, they had an audience with His Majesty the King, and called on the then Prime Minister Mr. Surya Bahadur Thapa and Foreign Minister Dr. Bhekh B. Thapa.
- US Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, Arthur E. Gene Dewey visited Nepal from October 18 to 20, 2004 to take stock of the situation of the Bhutanese refugees and ask Nepal and Bhutan to move towards a solution.
- Former Senator and Minority Leader of United States Mr. Thomas Andrew Daschle also known as Tom Daschle paid a visit of Nepal from July 21-27, 2005. During the visit Mr. Daschle met Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon'ble Mr. Ramesh Nath Pandey at his office. Mr. Daschle also met the agitating political leaders. Mr. Daschle was granted an audience by His Majesty the King.
- The commander of the US Pacific Command (PACOM), Admiral William J. Fallon, visited Nepal from February 1 to 2, 2006. His Majesty the King granted audience to him at the Narayanhiti Royal Palace. During the visit, Admiral Fallon called on Hon'ble Ramesh Nath Pandey, Minister for Foreign Affairs at Shital Niwas and held discussion on bilateral relations. He also met Hon'ble Kamal Thapa, Minister for Home Affairs and Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Pyar Jung Thapa, at their respective offices.
Important visits to USA from Nepalese Side
- Their Late Majesties King Birendra and Queen Aishwarya paid a State Visit to the USA in December 1983.
- The then HRH the Crown Prince Dipendra visited the USA in July-August 1996 during the Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
- The then Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba paid a visit to the USA from May 6 to 11, 2002. During the visit, the Prime Minister was received by H. E. Mr. George W. Bush, President of the USA at the Oval Office on May 7, 2002. The two leaders held discussions on bilateral relations and ongoing cooperation against terrorism as well as regional and international matters of common interest. While in Washington, D.C., the then Prime Minister also met the US Secretary of States Mr. Colin L. Powell, National Security Advisor Dr. (Ms) Condoleezza Rice, and Congressmen and Senators at the Capitol Hill. He also delivered a speech on the Nepalese perspectives on War against Terrorism at the Woodrow Wilson International Centre for Scholars in Washington, D.C.
- The then Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat visited Washington, DC from 22 to 25 Sep 2004 to request the US officials, Senators and Congressmen for their support for early passage of Nepal textile bill laying at both the Houses of US Congress.
US Development Cooperation to Nepal
The USA is one of the first countries to provide development assistance to Nepal. It has been assisting Nepal in its economic development programs since the beginning of 1951. The USA has contributed more than $ 1 billion bilaterally and multilaterally since 1951. In more than four decades, the United States has provided assistance to Nepal in various sectors such as transport, communication, public health, family planning, malaria eradication, agriculture, forestry etc. The US cooperation has been helpful also in the fields of manpower development and institution building.
On bilateral basis, annual grant assistance from the US is in the form of training, equipment, expert services and program cost financing. In addition, it also contributes through multilateral channels like IDA, ADB and the UN specialized agencies. At present the US assistance encompasses sectors like rural development, agriculture (research, extension and education) irrigation, population, health, forestry, natural resources conservation and manpower development. The major ongoing development projects being implemented with the US assistance are:
Nepal-US Trade Relations
The US is one of the important sources of hard currency for Nepal. From the export of garments and carpets to the US as well as from US tourist, Nepal earnes about US$90 to 100 million every year.
After the end of the quota system under Multi-fibre Agreement in 2005, export of the Nepalese Readymade Garments to the United States of America has declined. The trade figure of the Garments Association of Nepal has revealed 41 percent decline in the month of March 2005 in comparison to the previous year. In terms of value, garments worth US dollar 3.19 million was exported during the first three months of the last year in comparison to US dollar 1.68 million for the same period of this year.
Major export products from Nepal to the US are ready-made garments, woollen carpets, handicrafts, silver jewellery and leather goods. On the other hand, Nepal imports mainly industrial machinery, telecommunication and electrical equipment, processed food and photographic goods from the US. The trade balance has so far remained in Nepal's favour and there exists a tremendous scope and opportunity for the expansion our trade with the US being the largest market in the world.
US tourists visiting Nepal
The numbers of tourist arrival from the US to Nepal in the past five years are as follows:
| Year |
Number of Tourist |
| 2000 |
40,442 |
| 2001 |
32,052 |
| 2002 |
17,518 |
| 2003 |
18,838 |
| 2004 |
20,584 |
US Peace Corps Volunteers
Since 1962, more than 4000 Peace Corps volunteers have served in a wide variety of capacities, helping Government of Nepal, USAID and Private Voluntary Organizations (PVO) to provide development service to the people of Nepal. The programs of Peace Corps with over 100 volunteers are well integrated with the plans and programs of Government of Nepal. The Peace Corps is collaborating with USAID in its agriculture Research and Production and Rapti Rural Development Projects. Additionally, the Peace Corps/Nepal collaborates with various UN organizations to promote water systems, rural income generation, urban planning, community forestry, appropriate technology and education.
The Peace Corps volunteers programme has played an important role in bringing the people of both countries together. The programme, which was temporarily suspended since September 2004 due to Maoist threat in Nepal, has officially closed from January 18, 2006. However, the Country Agreement between Government of Nepal and the Peace Corps remains active in order to restart the programme as soon as possible.
Europe America Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Government of Nepal
Last updated on April 3, 2006
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