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Embassies and consular services for Nepal
| Location | Service areas |
|---|---|
| Embassy of Nepal | |
| New Zealand Consulate | Nepal |
Our Relationship with Nepal
New Zealand’s relationship with Nepal is warm and friendly. A key event connecting our two countries was the ascent of Mt Everest in 1953 by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay. Sir Edmund Hillary went to on to become increasingly connected with Nepal, including being appointed as New Zealand’s High Commissioner to India and Ambassador to Nepal from 1985 to 1989.
The New Zealand Government makes annual contributions to the Himalayan Trust today, and continues to play a role in celebrating important events. This includes the celebratations in June 2013 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Everest Ascent. The Government also established the Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship in 2008 to facilitate visits to New Zealand by young leaders from Nepal and India.
Trade
New Zealand has a long-standing trade with Nepal, largely consisting of exports of wool and dairy products. Nepal is interested in learning more from New Zealand’s expertise in agriculture. The Asian Development Bank sponsored a visit to New Zealand in 2013 by a Nepali delegation to study the New Zealand agricultural sector, which was led by Nepal’s Agriculture Secretary. New Zealand waives tariffs on almost all imports from Nepal.
| New Zealand merchandise trade (to September 2016) | ||
| Ranking | 118th | |
| Trade in Goods | $NZ 12.5 million | |
| Exports to Nepal | $NZ 11.3 million | Top exports: Wool and animal hair including yarn and woven fabric, dairy and animal products |
| Imports from Nepal | $NZ 1.2 million | Top imports: Apparel articles and accessories, carpet and other textile floor coverings |
| GDP | $US 20.8 billion | |
| GDP per capita | $US 732 | |
| GDP growth | 7.5% | |
Aid
Overseas Development Assistance New Zealand continues to provide an annual contribution to the Himalaya Trust. We also support development projects run by New Zealand NGOs in Nepal via the New Zealand Government contestable Partnership Fund. New Zealand currently supports a community development project run by Adventist Development Relief (ADRA), an education project run by Save the Children New Zealand and a cooperative enterprise project run by Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand.
New Zealand provides four scholarships per year for Nepali postgraduate students to study in New Zealand under the New Zealand Development Scholarships scheme. The scholarship lengths are usually for two to four years but we also promote shorter options.
Under our Head of Mission Fund (HOMF), we funded in 2016 an Otago University academic to provide technical advice on geodetic data, to assist Nepal develop a new coordinate system that is free of the distortions caused by the 2015 Nepal earthquake.
Embassies
New Zealand is represented in Nepal by the New Zealand High Commission in New Delhi.
Nepal is represented in New Zealand through Nepal’s Embassy in Australia.
Recent official visits
Foreign Minister of Nepal, Dr Prakash Saran Mahat, visited New Zealand on 27-28 November 2016.
Travel to Nepal
Get advice about travel to Nepal on the SafeTravel website(external link).