Nepal Britain Relations

A. Background:
Nepal established diplomatic relations with the United Kingdom in 1816. Ever since, friendship, mutual understanding and respect for each other’s national interests and aspirations have characterized relations between the two countries. The Treaty of Sugauli (1816) provided for the exchange of accredited Ministers to each other’s court (Art. VIII). This arrangement continued until 1923 when a new Treaty of Friendship between Nepal and Great Britain was signed and the status of British Representative in Kathmandu was upgraded to the level of an Envoy.  In 1934 Nepal established a legation in London and the two countries exchanged Ministers Plenipotentiary and Envoys Extraordinary. The status of these representatives was promoted in 1947 to the level of Ambassadors, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.

B. Exchange of Visits:
Bilateral visits and periodic consultations at different levels have played a major role in furthering Nepal-UK relations.

Major Visits from Nepal:

1. Prime Minister Jung Bahadur Kunwar -1852.
2. Prime Minister Chandra Sumsher Rana -1908.
3. King Mahendra - October 1960 (state visit).
4. King Birendra - 1980 (state visit) and 1995 (to attend the 50th anniversary of the end of the World War II).
5. Prime Minister Man Mohan Adhikari - 1995.
6. Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba - 1996 and 2002 (official visits).
7. Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai 1999.
8. Parliamentary delegations led by Speakers Daman Nath Dhungana and Tara Nath Rana Bhat - 1993 and 1999 respectively.
9. Deputy Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal -1995 and 2002 (the latter as the Opposition Leader at the House of Representatives).
10. Foreign Minister Dr. Prakash Chandra Lohani -1995.
11. Foreign Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat - 1999 (as a guest speaker at the Wilton Park conference).
12. Deputy Speaker Mrs Chitra Lekha Yadav - May 2000 (study tour) and 17-27 October 2007.
13. Parliamentary delegation led by the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee Shubash Chandra Nembang - January 2003.
14. Chief of the Army Staff Gen. Pyar Jung Thapa - 17-22 May 2003 (official visit).
15. King Gyanendra and Queen Komal - August 27 to September 7, 2003 (private visit).
16. Chief of Army Staff Rookmangud Katawal - 22-26 July 2007 (official visit).
17. Minister for Health and Population Girirajmani Pokhrel - 03-08 September 2007.
18. Minister of State for Health and Population Shashi Shrestha -18-20 October 2007.

Major Visits from the UK:

1. Queen Elizabeth II, accompanied by HRH Prince Philip, Duke of   Edinburgh, in 1960 and in February 1986 (State Visits).
2. Diana, Princess of Wales – 2-6 March 1993. 
3. British IPU delegation lead by Speaker Betty Boothroyd - 1994.
4. Prince Charles – 6-9 February 1998 (official).
5. Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh – 14-17 November 2000 (private visit under the auspices of the World Wildlife Fund).
6. Chief of the General Staff General Sir Peter Inge – 7-10 October 1993.
7. British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State, Liam Fox, Foreign and Commonwealth Office - 23-26 August 1996 (unofficial).
8. Secretary of State for International Development Clare Short - 12-17 November 1998 (official).
9. Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Robin Cook – 20-21 April 2000 (first ever official visit by a British Foreign Secretary).
10. Geoffrey Hoon, M.P., Secretary of State for Defence of the United Kingdom, on 13-15 December 2000 (official visit).
11. Ben Bradshaw, Parliamentary Undersecretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs – 19-20 February 2002.
12. Chief of the Defense Staff of the British Army Admiral Sir Michael Boyce – 24-28 May 2002 (official).
13. British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Mike O'Brien – 9-11 October 2002 (official).
14. Rosalind Marsden, Director for South Asia at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office – 23-26 November 2002. 
15. Permanent Under Secretary of State of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Sir Michael Jay – 6-7 December 2002.
16. British team headed by John Stephen Smith, Head, South Asia Department, Foreign and Commonwealth Office – 3-6 February 2003. 
17. Tom Phillips, Director for South Asia of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office - 10-12 February 2003.
18. Richard Spring MP, Member of the House of Commons and Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs – 19-23 February 2003. 
19. Sir Jeffrey James, Special Representative - March 8, 2003, June 7-15, 2003, November 30, 2003 and March 20- 2004.
20. Chief of the General Staff of the British Army, General Sir Mike Jackson – 1-6 November 2003 (official). 
21. Gareth Thomas, British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (PUSS) for International Development – 28-30 July 2004 and 2-4 April 2007.
22. Kim Howells, MP, Minister of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs –25-28 September 2006.
23. British Parliamentary Under Secretary of State of the Department for the International Development (DFID), Shahid Mallik – 17-20 September 2007.

C. Development and Economic Cooperation:

British fellowships to Nepal began from 1950s and financial assistance in 1961. British volunteers have been engaged in Nepal since 1964. These programmes have contributed to addressing Nepal's need for trained, specialized manpower and developed important links between the two peoples.

British assistance generally comes now through the Department for International Development (DFID) in the form of an Umbrella Agreement. Its emphasis is on the reduction of poverty in developing countries. The DFID opened its office in Kathmandu in March 1999.

The British aid through DFID for the year 2000/2001 was to the tune of £ 18.52 million, followed by £ 22 million in 2002, £ 35 million in 2004, £47 million in 2005-06 and £ 48.8 million in 2007/08.

Different socio-economic activities in Nepal have benefited from British government assistance. Reducing poverty and social exclusion and thus contributing to a lasting peace have been the principal focuses of this assistance, which include governance reforms; improved basic services for poor people (including basic education, health, water and sanitation, agriculture and rural infrastructure); and peace building and conflict resolution activities.

In terms of sectors, Nepal has received British aid in agriculture, transport, local development, communication, education, administration, health, water supply and forestry.

A technical cooperation agreement to strengthen the traditional Nepal-UK collaboration was signed on 31st May 1994. This agreement stipulates the roles and responsibilities of the two governments regarding British technical cooperation and the British Council activities.

 
D. Business and Commercials Relations:

The United Kingdom is among the top ten trading partners of Nepal. Britain stood as the fifth largest destination for Nepal’s exports in 2007 with a total value of Rs. 2145 million. Major Nepali exports to the United Kingdom are woolen carpets, handicrafts, ready-made garments, silverware and jewellery, leather goods, Nepali paper and paper products.

Nepal’s major imports from the United Kingdom include copper scraps, hard drinks, cosmetics, medicine and medical equipment, textiles, copper wire rod, machinery and parts, aircraft and spare parts, scientific research equipment, office equipment and stationary.

While the trade has steadily risen between the two nations over the years, the balance of trade has alternatively been negative and positive. It was in Nepal’s favour in the year 2007. 
The following figure shows Nepal's trade with the United Kingdom during the past few years:

Exchange of visits by trade delegations has added a new dimension to the economic ties between the two countries.

E. Tourism:

A sizeable number of British tourists visit Nepal every year for trekking, mountaineering and other leisurely activities. In the year 2007, a total number of 26,814 British tourists visited Nepal. The following figures indicate the annual tourist arrivals from Britain to Nepal for the last few years:

F. Joint Venture:

There are some British joint ventures in Nepal in the areas of hotel, resorts and restaurant business, tourism, travel & trekking, software packaging, readymade garments, hydro-power, biotechnology consultancy etc. The British investment in Nepal -- including under construction, licensed and approved projects -- has been to the tune of around Rs. 2556 million as of July 15, 2007.

An agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investment between Nepal and the United Kingdom was signed on March 2, 1993.

G. British Gurkhas:

The Nepali nationals’ recruitment into the British army officially started on April 24, 1815, after the Treaty of Sugauli between Nepal and the British India was concluded in 1814. Subsequently, a large number of Nepalis were taken into the British Indian Army. After the independence of India, the recruitment of Nepali nationals was organised under the Tripartite Agreement of 1947 among Nepal, India and the United Kingdom. This agreement paved way for the distribution of the then existing Gurkha Brigades serving between India and Britain. Thus the 2nd, 6th, 7th and 10th Gurkha Rifles became part of the British Army while the rest were retained by independent India.

A gradual decline of the British Empire after the Second World War and the emergence of a changing pattern of global power relations, particularly in the late 1980s, led to the downsizing of the British Army. Since the handover of Hong Kong to China in June 1997, the strength of the Nepalis in the British Army has been reduced to 3,500. Currently about 250 people are recruited into the British Army. There are about 27,000 pension holders, 10,000 welfare recipients and 11,000 non-pension holders.

British Gurkha soldiers are a fully integrated part of the British Armed Forces. They constitute an important element of Nepal-Britain relations.  Over 160,000 Gurkhas were enlisted in the Gurkha Brigade and other units of the Indian Army during the First and Second World Wars. The Brigade suffered 43,000 casualties during those Wars.  In recognition of their distinguished service, the British Gorkha servicemen from Nepal have won 13 Victoria Crosses (VC), the highest British gallantry honour.

The Government of Nepal had made representations to the British Government at various levels to make the benefits and pensions provided to the Gurkha soldiers equitable and just, in view of their outstanding contributions to protecting Britain and preserving its freedom and liberty. 

H. Welfare Activities

The British Government has been providing assistance to various Gurkha Welfare Schemes being implemented in different parts of Nepal. It administers, through different Area Welfare Centres in Nepal, welfare activities benefiting the retired British Gurkhas and their dependents.

In accordance with the Tripartite Understanding of 9 November 1947 and subsequent understandings between the governments of Nepal and Britain, welfare service is provided to both the serving and former members of the British Brigade of Gurkhas through the British Gurkha Welfare Scheme (BGWS).        

The Welfare Scheme is financed and sponsored by the Ministry of Defence and the Overseas Development Administration in the UK. It is further supported by certain private charities and trusts, including the Gurkha Welfare Trust (UK), Gurkha Welfare Foundation (USA), Gurkha Welfare Association (Canada) and Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Association (Hong Kong).