Nepal Canada Relations
Political Relations
Nepal and Canada established diplomatic relations on January 18, 1965, and have been enjoying longstanding friendly relations ever since. Nepal opened its Embassy in Ottawa on October 1, 2009, and has its honorary consulates in Toronto and Victoria. Canadian Ambassador in New Delhi is accredited to Nepal. Canada has its Consulate in Kathmandu.
Major Contacts/ Visits:
High level visits from Nepal
A Nepalese delegation led by Minister of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Hon’ble Jiwan Bahadur Shahi attended the 39th General Assembly of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) held on 27 September – 5 October 2016 in Montreal, Canada. Hon. Minister Shahi addressed the General Assembly on 30 September 2016. During his visit, Hon. Minister Shahi met with the President of the ICAO Council Mr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu, and thanked the ICAO leadership for the technical support ICAO provided to Nepal to improve aviation safety and other areas of aviation development. Hon. Minister also attended the general meeting of the member of parliament of Canada to form Canada Nepal Parliamentary Friendship Group on 4 October 2016 in the parliament of Canada.
A high level delegation led by Hon. member of the Public Service Commission of Nepal Ms. Bindra Hada Bhattarai visited Canada and held meeting with the President, Senior Vice President, Vice Presidents, Directors and Manager and other Senior Officials of the Public Service Commission of Canada and discussed at length about the relationship and coordination between federal and provincial Public Service Commission.
Likewise, a delegation led by Mr. Rajiv Gautam, Secretary, Office of the Prime Ministers and Council of Ministers visited Canada on June 13-18, 2017 and held meetings with various agencies including the Inter-Governmental Affairs Ministry of the Province of Ontario, Canada. Both sides deliberated on the relationship and coordination between federal and provincial civil service. The delegation also met with the senior officials of Forum of Federation Canada and discussed about the role of the institutions like the Forum of Federation could play in Nepal’s transition to federal governance model including in the civil service transition.
The Chief Secretary of Nepal Dr. Som Lal Subedi visited Canada on 2-7 March 2017 leading the 7-member Nepalese delegation including Home Secretary Mr. Lok Darsan Regmi and held meetings with his counterpart Mr. Michael Wenrick, Clerk of the Privy Council Canada and other agencies responsible for national security, federal policing, border services and provincial policing on March 3, 2017. Dr. Subedi shared the conviction that the long and mature Canadian experience with federalism would be of immense help in the course of legislation and implementation of various arrangements dealing with the federal and provincial administrations in Nepal.
High Level Visits from Canada
The Hon’ble Sheila Ray, Justice, Ontario Court of Justice visited Nepal on 9-22 December 2016. During her visit to Nepal, Justice Sheila Ray paid a courtesy call on Rt. Hon’ble Sushila Karki, Chief Justice of Nepal and Justice Jagadish Sharma Poudel. During the meetings, both sides shared experiences about the relevant areas of the justice system in both the countries.
The Chief Commissioner of Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) Mr. Bob Paulson visited Nepal on October 21, 2016, and held meetings with the leadership of Nepal Police.
Canadian Minister of Labor and Minister of Status of Woman Dr. Kellie Leitch visited Nepal on 31 May 2015 and held discussions with his Nepalese counterpart on the possibility of recruiting Nepalese workers under “Seasonal Agricultural Program”.
Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and for International Human Rights, Hon. Deepak Obhrai visited Nepal from 13-16 January 2015 in connection with marking the 50th year of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Canada-Nepal Parliamentary Friendship Group
The Canada-Nepal Parliamentary Friendship Group was formed for the first time in the Parliament of Canada on the 4th of October 2016.
Development Cooperation
Background of Canadian Development Cooperation in Nepal:
The earliest cooperation to Nepal from Canada was in 1952 when it joined the Colombo Plan. And the direct cooperation dates back to 1958 which for the most part, consisted of the humanitarian food assistance. The official bilateral assistance commenced only in 1970 through the Canadian International Development Agency. In July 1987, Canada Cooperation Office (CCO) was established in Kathmandu to assist the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) Canadian Cooperation Office (CCO) in line with Nepal’s development needs and priorities.
In its development assistance spanning about four decades, Canadian contributions to Nepal totals approximately to $470 million CAD. In seventies, the assistance was geared towards developing the aviation sector of Nepal. Canada provided seven Twin Otters, airport security equipment, and training to officials of Nepal Airlines Cooperation and the Department of Civil Aviation as well as helped construct a hanger at Nepalgunj.
In 1980s and subsequent years, Canadian assistance got diversified in the areas of energy, rural development, health, education, geographical survey, agriculture, poverty alleviation, health care and food security.
The 1990s witnessed CIDA’s assistance in the form of Country Development Programming Framework (CDPF) which underscored the institutional strengthening in water and energy resource management and good governance though community development.
Following the changes in April 2006 – Janaandolan II, CIDA lent its support to facilitate democratic transition and peace process.
Some of the Institutions and Groups funded by Canadian Government and their engagements in Nepal are as follows:
- International Development Research Centre (IDRC): IDRC has been supporting Nepal in more than 130 Research and other activities since its inception in 1972. Nepal has been receiving about 8-10 million dollar through IDRC in one programme cycle. IDRC is one of the DFATD funded organizationd of the government.
- Grand Challenges Canada (GCC): GCC, a government funded organization, has been active in the improvement of rural health and sanitation in various districts of Nepal. Love the Loo Latrine Project, Saving Lives, a maternal and child health improvement program, Integrated Rice-duck Farming, a program to address malnutrition, rural hydro for health project, and Implementing Real-time Mobile Device Based System for Surveillance of Maternal and Child Health Need Project, and many other projects have been implemented in Nepal by GCC.
- Trade Facilitation Office Canada: Trade Facilitation office (TFO), Canada, which also receives most of its fund from the government, has put Nepal in a list of countries that need to be promoted in Canadian market. TFO Canada works closely with the Embassy of Nepal in Ottawa.
Canadian Development Cooperation Priorities: Global peace and security constitutes a defining element of Canada’s foreign policy, with implications for development and the geographic allocation of aid. Canada conceives of the humanitarian action as an important part of its ODA and foreign policy. It is consistently in the top ten of humanitarian aid donors by volume and its influence matches this level of funding.
Economic Relations
Trade
While Canada and Nepal share exceptional and longstanding bilateral ties, trade flows between the two countries stand rather modest.
A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Nepal and Canada in 2003 for duty free and quota free access of Nepalese products to Canadian markets, which has offered an additional incentive for bilateral trade.
Similarly, in May 2013, the Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) and Indo-Canadian Business Chamber (ICBC) inked a Memorandum of Understanding to establish the Canada-Nepal Business Executive Committee (CNBEC) with an objective to foster business ties between Canada and Nepal through increased interaction between Nepalese companies and Canadian companies based in India.
- Exports to Canada
Exports to Canada include tea, coffee and spices, prepared animal fodder, articles of leather handbag and similar containers, paper, paper-board, wadding, felt and nonwovens, special yarns, ropes and cables and articles thereof, woolen globes, knitted and woolen products, carpets and other textiles, articles of Apparels and clothing accessories, knitted and not knitted and Crocheted, headgear and parts thereof, works of art collectors pieces and antiques, sacks and bags and other made up textile articles etc.
- Imports from Canada
Imports to Nepal from Canada include edible vegetables, dried peas, lentils and certain roots and tubes, nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances, parts thereof, Aircrafts and parts thereof, items related to optical, photography, cinematography, measuring checking precision, medical or surgical instrument and apparatus, textile and clothing, plastics and articles thereof, printed books, newspapers and products of printed industry, carpets and textile floor covering, ceramics, glasses and glassware, miscellaneous chemical products, electrical machinery and equipment, sound recorders and reproducers, pharmaceutical products etc.
The following table exhibits trends of Nepal’s trade with Canada. (In Nepalese Rupees)
| 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | |
| Total Import | 816,841,536 | 1,118,433,794 | 1,058,563,093 | 2,269,878,938 | 3,350,060,412 | 6,193,100,683 | 5,340,493,868 |
| Total Export | 829,146,130 | 876,385,817 | 639,637,785 | 774,776,645 | 875,641,666 | 831,173,582 | 891,899,362 |
| Trade Balance | 12,304,594 | -251,047,977 | -418,925,308 | -1,495,1022 | -525,581, 254 | 5361927101 | 4448594506 |
Source: Statistics TEPC, Nepal
Tourism
Tourist Arrival in Nepal from Canada:
| Year | Tourist Arrival |
| 2011 | 11,404 |
| 2012 | 13,507 |
| 2013 | 12,132 |
| 2014 | 11,019 |
| 2015 | 8,398 |
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs