Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali is all set to visit Washington DC from December 17-21. He will be accompanied by Nepal’s Foreign Secretary Shanker Bairagi, and the US Ambassador to Nepal H E Randy Berry will arrive in DC soon. The visit will be quite significant since after 17 years the foreign ministerial meeting is going to take place. Minister Gyawali will lead bilateral consultations with his American counterpart, and will also discuss about areas of economy and trade, security and developmental aid, people-to-people relations among others with high level officials from different agencies in Washington DC. HE Dr. Arjun Karki in Washington told Nepal Matters for America that “first time we are going to have a political meeting”, therefore this visit will be of “very high significance.”
The visit signifies the growing convergence between the two nations, which of late was labeled as a secondary kind of relationship, in that while the US is prioritizing Nepal in its Indo-Pacific vision, in Nepal also there is growing realization of strongly “reviving” its ties with the long-time friend US. In the quickly changing dynamics of South Asia, Nepal especially being a nation sandwiched between the giants China and India, the US-Nepal relationship has a particular significance in terms of Nepal’s peace and stability, democracy and rule of law, and economic growth and development. It is particularly important to note for stakeholders on both sides that Nepalis want result-oriented policies from its old allies especially in the time in which Nepal has new options available and new narratives are becoming stronger.
Nepal is the 12th biggest source of international students in the US universities. About 300, 000 people of Nepali heritage live in the US. Every year thousands of Americans visit Nepal. The US is the biggest development donor of Nepal at present. The US is willing to commit more fund for Nepal’s infrastructure development and regional connectivity in South Asia.
Nepal Matters for America, December 2018
Nepal Matters for America 