Canada-Nepal Relations
Canada established diplomatic relations with Nepal in 1965. Canadian development assistance to Nepal commenced in 1958 and a formal bilateral development assistance program began in 1970.
Nepal established an Embassy in Canada in 2009, and has consulates in Toronto and Vancouver.
With the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement in 2006, Nepal embarked on a significant political transition following ten years of civil war between Maoists combatants and the Government of Nepal. In 2007, an interim constitution paved the way for Maoists to join the country's interim parliament and to officially become part of the Government. In April 10, 2008, in Nepal’s first post-conflict elections, the Unified Communist Party of Nepal/Maoist emerged as the single largest party in the Constituent Assembly. In May 2008, the country was declared a federal democratic republic. The current coalition government is headed in the Constituent Assembly by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai of the Unified Communist Party of Nepal/Marxist-Leninist Party.
Canada and Nepal have longstanding bilateral relations. Canada supports Nepal’s commitment to building a stable and democratic society, as the country progresses towards completing the drafting of a new constitution and meeting all the objectives of the 2006 Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
Through CIDA’s bilateral program for development assistance to Nepal, Canada promotes respect for human rights and has been a major supporter of the ambitious human rights monitoring mission of the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which commenced operations in Nepal in 2005. To date, Canada has contributed $3.1 million towards this mission, making it one of OHCHR’s largest contributors. CIDA works with Nepali and Canadian NGOs to support community-based and -led projects aimed at improvement of rural livelihoods, community health service provision, capacity building for gender-based organizations and improved local governance.
Canada Fund For Local Initiatives
For over three decades, Canada has funded modest development assistance projects in developing countries through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI). The CFLI is a program that supports small projects proposed and implemented by local NGOs and other grassroots organizations such as village councils, cooperatives and women’s groups. This enables Canada to respond to local needs by working at the community level. Equally important, the CFLI serves to strengthen Canada’s relationships with civil society and local communities and to build networks of contacts in countries around the world. The staff at the Canadian Mission look forward to working with you to implement an initiative you may have to contribute to your community’s development.
November 2011
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