Nepal will get $ 40 plus million from the U.S.; More likely, if requested

By John Narayan Parajuli


WASHINGTON DC, June 27 - It seems the return of the political parties to power in Nepal has triggered an international race of largesse. The prospect of peace has resumed a bigger flow of international assistance.
In the latest development, the U.S. government has decided to increase the annual assistance to Nepal by almost one-third.

US ambassador James F. Moriarty returned to Nepal after securing more assistance during his visit to Washington last week. It is learnt that ambassador Moriarty has secured an additional 12 million dollars in assistance for Nepal on top of the 35 million dollars that the US government provides Nepal annually. Although sources dispute the exact figure, it will be upwards of US $ 40 million.

A Congressional source familiar with the ambassador’s itinerary says that he “worked really hard” to make the additional funding available for Nepal. Details of his visit are sketchy, but during his trip to Washington Moriarty met top administration officials and officials in the legislative branch. He met the State Department under Secretary Paula Dobriansky – and Senate staff to update them on the current political situation and to make the case for robust U.S. assistance to Nepal during its period of transition. He also met with Congressman James T Walsh and aides of Senator Patrick Leahy and Richard Lugar to update them on Nepal. Among others, he met the U.S. National Security Advisor Stephen Hedley, USAID Administrator Randall Tobias and one of the Assistant Secretary of Defense. The content of his discussion with the National Security Advisor—who spends about 6 hours each day with the president—was not known. Moriarty is said to have had worked for Hedley in the past.

The US ambassador is expected to issue a statement in Kathmandu on Wednesday detailing his visit to Washington and its outcome. Sources say that the ambassador presented a cautiously optimistic assessment of the developments in Nepal. Congressman Walsh (R-NY) whom Moriarty met said that he [Moriarty] was “anxious to see if Maoists swear-off violence and destroy their weapons.” He was skeptical about the Maoists' intention, but that could have changed with the Maoists almost ready to join the interim government, says another Congressional source. Despite the skepticism, the United States seemed encouraged by the recent political developments and has expressed eagerness to continue supporting the democratization process—without ‘interfering.’

The U.S. has identified three key areas of assistance to continue its support for the democratization process in Nepal: democracy, governance and conflict mitigation. Secretary Boucher while testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations committee on May 18 said that the United States government will continue to work these key areas.

Congressional sources indicate that the United States is willing to provide more economic assistance to Nepal provided the Nepali government makes a formal request. “We need to be supportive,” said Congressman Walsh (R-NY), “United States should and will help Nepal.” Walsh, who has been very active about Nepal in the House and intends to visit the country, soon, indicated that he is willing to take initiative at his level. With war in Iraq and other pressing priorities, it has become increasingly difficult to acquire more funds for small trouble spots like Nepal without allies in the Congress.

“I would like to see United States actively involved in [giving] foreign aid to Nepal,” Walsh told this scribe during an on-camera interview at his office. With some influential legislators from both parties watching Nepal closely, Nepal is likely to have more allies in the U.S. congress than it ever did.

It is understood that State Department officials are prepared to meet Nepal’s request, however they don’t want to be seen as competing with India. But they are ready to match Nepal’s request with additional assistance.



Excerpts from Congressman James T Walsh’s interview:

US is trying to have a hands-off approach on Nepal—supporting the democratization process while not interfering.
We should be willing to help, but certainly not exert our own will.

The government shouldn’t respond to the Maoists on the Army until the Maoists are fully disarmed.

If the Maoists have a good idea for the future of Nepal, they need to sell it to the people of Nepal right now. Let their ideas compete in the market of ideas freely.

We need to be supportive, but there has to be a sense that everybody in Nepal is at the same table before that happens

The U.S. is very anxious to see if the Maoists will swear-off violence and destroy their weapons.

I will do anything to help Nepal.





The assistance will focus on:

Building the capacity of vital democratic institutions like the Peace Secretariat, Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority, National Human Rights Commission, Election Commission, and the judiciary;
Support national and local peace building initiatives and improve public understanding of the peace negotiations, the cease-fire Code of Conduct, and plans for a constituent assembly process;

Support the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Nepal;

Assist Nepal’s political parties and civil society groups to become more internally democratic, more inclusive, and better able to provide outreach to constituents to underscore that Nepal’s democracy belongs to all of its citizens and that their political leaders answer to them;

Strengthen provision of public health services and facilitate economic growth and commerce through employment-creating public works, agriculture, job skills training, and infrastructure projects that better connect Nepal’s population centers; and

Develop professionalism and respect for human rights among Nepal’s security forces.