Foreign relations of Nepal
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Template:Politics of Nepal As a small, landlocked country wedged between two larger and far stronger powers, Nepal seeks good relations with both India and the People's Republic of China. Nepal formally established relations with the PRC in 1956, and since then their bilateral relations have generally been very good. Because of strong cultural, religious, linguistic, and economic ties, Nepal's association with India traditionally has been close. India and Nepal restored trade relations in 1990, after a break caused by India's security concerns over Nepal's relations with the PRC. A bilateral trade treaty was signed in 1996.
Outside of Asia, Nepal enjoys especially friendly ties with the Federal Republic of Germany which is a major export market for Nepalese goods. Germany also officially recognizes Nepal as a priority country for German development assistance and academic exchanges[1]. Also of note is that through the recruitment of Gurkha soldiers by the British Army since the 19th century, Nepal has historical and economic links with the United Kingdom.
Nepal has played an active role in the formation of the economic development-oriented South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and is the site of its secretariat. On international issues, Nepal follows a nonaligned policy and often votes with the Nonaligned Movement in the United Nations. Nepal participates in a number of UN specialized agencies and is a member of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Colombo Plan, and the Asian Development Bank.
Human rights issues
Police forces sometimes use excessive force in quelling violent demonstrations. In addition, there have been reports of torture under detention and widespread reports of custodial abuse. In 2000, the government established the Human Rights Commission, a government-appointed commission with a mandate to investigate human rights violations. To date, the Commission has investigated 51 complaints. The government is sometimes slow to follow the Commission's recommendations or to enforce accountability for recent and past abuses.
Some restrictions continue on freedom of expression. Trafficking in women and child labour remain serious problems. Discrimination against women and lower castes is prevalent.
Disputes - international: joint border commission continues to work on small disputed sections of boundary with India; India has instituted a stricter border regime to restrict transit of Maoist insurgents
Illicit drugs: illicit producer of cannabis for the domestic and international drug markets; transit point for opiates from Southeast Asia to the West
States with which Nepal has established diplomatic relations
| State | Date of Establishment of Relations | |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 1816 | |
| United States of America | April 25, 1947 | |
| India | June 13, 1947 | |
| France | April 20, 1949 | |
| People’s Republic of China | August 1, 1955 | |
| Russian Federation (USSR) | July 20, 1956 | |
| Japan | July 28, 1956 | |
| Sri Lanka | July 1, 1957 | |
| Egypt | July 16, 1957 | |
| Federal Republic of Germany | April 4, 1958 | |
| Austria | August 15, 1959 | |
| Italy | August 31, 1959 | |
| Switzerland | November 10, 1959 | |
| Poland | November 25, 1959 | |
| Malaysia | January 1, 1960 | |
| Greece | February 2, 1960 | |
| Philippines | February 12, 1960 | |
| Commonwealth of Australia | February 15, 1960 | |
| Myanmar | March 19, 1960 | |
| Pakistan | March 20, 1960 | |
| Netherlands | April 2, 1960 | |
| Lao People’s Democratic Republic | May 20, 1960 | |
| Israel | June 1, 1960 | |
| Sweden | June 10, 1960 | |
| Thailand | November 30, 1960 | |
| Indonesia | December 25, 1960 | |
| Mongolia | January 5, 1961 | |
| Hungary | January 15, 1961 | |
| New Zealand | May 1961 | |
| Afghanistan | July 1, 1961 | |
| Chile | 1962 | |
| Argentina | January 1, 1962 | |
| Turkey | November 15, 1962 | |
| Lebanon | August 18, 1963 | |
| Belgium | August 19, 1963 | |
| Iran | December 14, 1964 | |
| Canada | January 18, 1965 | |
| Jordan | August 20, 1965 | |
| Denmark | December 15, 1967 | |
| Bulgaria | April 15, 1968 | |
| Romania | April 20, 1968 | |
| Algeria | April 29, 1968 | |
| Spain | May 13, 1968 | |
| Iraq | October 30, 1968 | |
| Singapore | March 25, 1969 | |
| Sudan | July 11, 1969 | |
| Syria | February 26, 1970 | |
| Ethiopia | April 15, 1971 | |
| Kuwait | February 25, 1972 | |
| Bangladesh | April 8, 1972 | |
| Albania | May 23, 1972 | |
| Norway | January 26, 1973 | |
| Democratic People’s Republic of Korea | May 15, 1974 | |
| Republic of Korea | May 15, 1974 | |
| Finland | September 21, 1974 | |
| Tanzania | January 10, 1975 | |
| Morocco | February 18, 1975 | |
| Cuba | March 25, 1975 | |
| Cambodia | April 18, 1975 | |
| Vietnam | May 15, 1975 | |
| Kenya | June 3, 1975 | |
| Mexico | November 25, 1975 | |
| Luxembourg | November 27, 1975 | |
| Nigeria | December 20, 1975 | |
| Libya | December 30, 1975 | |
| Peru | January 28, 1976 | |
| Brazil | February 7, 1976 | |
| Portugal | September 1, 1976 | |
| Bahrain | January 13, 1977 | |
| Oman | January 21, 1977 | |
| Qatar | January 21, 1977 | |
| United Arab Emirates | January 22, 1977 | |
| Saudi Arabia | March 15, 1977 | |
| Costa Rica | August 16, 1977 | |
| Maldives | August 1, 1980 | |
| Republic of Cyprus | August 18, 1980 | |
| Mauritius | February 12, 1981 | |
| Iceland | May 25, 1981 | |
| Bhutan | June 3, 1983 | |
| Holy See | September 10, 1983 | |
| Malta | September 25, 1983 | |
| Brunei | February 3, 1984 | |
| Panama | February 15, 1984 | |
| Tunisia | April 14, 1984 | |
| Somalia | October 24, 1984 | |
| Zimbabwe | November 27, 1984 | |
| Gabon | June 17, 1985 | |
| Yemen | December 25, 1985 | |
| Fiji | June 12, 1986 | |
| Zambia | September 10, 1986 | |
| Mozambique | September 30, 1986 | |
| Nicaragua | October 5, 1986 | |
| Venezuela | April 28, 1987 | |
| Colombia | May 7, 1987 | |
| Bolivia | May 21, 1987 | |
| Estonia | April 20, 1992 | |
| Latvia | April 20, 1992 | |
| Ukraine | January 15, 1993 | |
| Armenia | March 26, 1993 | |
| Kyrgyzstan | March 26, 1993 | |
| Belarus | July 19, 1993 | |
| Moldova | July 20, 1993 | |
| Czech Republic | March 2, 1994 | |
| Slovakia | March 4, 1994 | |
| Guyana | June 22, 1994 | |
| South Africa | July 28, 1994 | |
| Azerbaijan | February 28, 1995 | |
| Seychelles | October 10, 1996 | |
| Slovenia | December 2, 1997 | |
| Macedonia | January 6, 1998 | |
| Croatia | February 6, 1998 | |
| Ireland | August 19, 1999 | |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | January 12, 2000 | |
| Lithuania | February 8, 2005 | |
| San Marino | August 10, 2005 | |
| Tajikistan | September 13, 2005 | |
| Republic of Georgia | September 22, 2005 | |
| Turkmenistan | October 17, 2005 |
Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Nepal [2]