--By Suraksha Adhikari

 

Nepal and Finland established diplomatic relations on 21 September 1974.  Bilateral relations between the two countries have been marked by friendship, cordiality and cooperation. The Finnish Embassy was opened in Kathmandu at the Charge d’ Affaires level in 1992, and was subsequently upgraded with the appointment of its Ambassador in September, 2011. Nepal has no residential Embassy in Helsinki. The Embassy of Nepal in Copenhagen is concurrently accredited to Finland.

 

Bilateral consultations on development cooperation were held between Nepal’s Ministry of Finance and Finland’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2003, 2007, 2010 and January 2013 in Kathmandu.

 

Exchange of Visits

Some important bilateral visits of the several high-level visits that have taken place between Nepal and Finland, are:

 

The then Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ paid an official visit to Finland on April 1-3, 2009 at the friendly invitation of the Prime Minister of Finland Mr. Matti Vanhanen. The then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sujata Koirala visited Finland in March 2010.

 

Finnish Foreign Trade and Development Minister Mr. Paavo Vayrynen’s visited Nepal on 3 February 2009. Ms. Heidi Hautala, Minister for International Development visited Nepal from December 2-6, 2011.

 

Cooperation

The relations between Finland and Nepal are based on development cooperation. Through its cooperation in development, Finland has been assisting Nepal to reduce poverty, enhance the peace process, root democracy into the society, improve human rights and promote environmentally sustainable development.

 

By supporting Nepal, Finland aims to contribute to the stability of wider Southern Asia, which is in the interest of Finland’s foreign and security policies. Because Nepal has relatively few donors, and this has enabled Finland to contribute in sectors that can provide visibility to its cooperation and good results in sectors that are essential for Nepal’s development.

 

Finland operates in Nepal’s environment and education sectors. These are areas in which Finland has good international reputation, lengthy experience and has been adding significant value.

 

Finnish cooperation in Nepal began in 1982 with the grant assistance of 6000 MT of chemical fertilizers. Such assistance has increased and widened in recent years. Earlier the Finnish development programme in Nepal was focused on energy, forestry and water resources. In recent days, Finnish development cooperation has shifted attention towards poverty alleviation, sustainable development, and promotion of democracy, human rights and participatory system of governance.

 

Nepal is one of Finland’s eight long-term development partner countries, along with Mozambique, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Zambia and Kenya in Africa, Nicaragua in Latin America and Vietnam in Asia. In addition to water and sanitation, education and environment sectors, Finland has supported in Nepal’s Peace Trust Fund, OHCHR as well as Nepalese NGOs. Finland provided US$22 million in the Fiscal 2010-2011. 

 

Finnish NGOs’ projects

The work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) is an important part of Finland’s development cooperation. In Nepal, Finland channels currently 25 per cent of development aid through Finnish NGOs. They carry out development projects in Nepal together with their Nepalese partner organizations.

 

In 2013 the Ministry for Foreign Affairs is funding about 50 NGO projects which are implemented by 16 Finnish NGOs in Nepal. The combined annual (2013) budget of these projects is around EUR 4.7 million. Refer to table below for more information. In addition, some Finnish foundations, such as Abilis, KIOS and Siemenpuu, are supporting local NGO projects in Nepal.

 

 

Bilateral development cooperation

Finland has been providing cooperation in education, water and forestry sectors of Nepal. As a nation which has gained international reputation, lengthy experience in this sector, its contribution has added significant value to give. The cooperation is based on Country Strategy (2013-2016).

 

Cooperation in education sector

Finland is funding Nepal’s School System Reform Programme (SSRP). The programme’s main aim is to make the education system accessible to all Nepalese school-aged children and improve the quality of teaching in grades 1–8. The programme also aims to increase the number of students as well as the quality of education in grades 9–12. In 2010 estimated 93.7 % of Nepalese children went to school.

 

In education sector funds are also allocated to Technical and Vocational Education and Training programme (TVET). The aim is to improve the pupils’ vocational trainability and capabilities to enter job markets. In the long run the goal is to support the whole vocational training system in Nepal.

 

Cooperation in forestry sector

Finland had a significant role in the development of Nepal’s forestry sector in 1980’s and 1990’s. Now Finland funds Forest Resource Assessment in Nepal (FRAN)–project which aims at developing a uniform system to collect and share information about forest stock, biomass and biodiversity in Nepal. This makes forest related information more easily available and improves the possibilities to use it in nation-wide decision making process. The project is implemented in 2009–2014. Cooperation in environmental sector will be closed at the end of 2014. 

 

Cooperation in industrial sector

The area in Dharan-Biratnagar’s industrial tunnel is one of Nepal’s fastest urbanizing and industrializing areas. Strengthening of Environmental Administration and Management in Nepal (SEAM-N) -Project aims at strengthening the administrator´s and industries’ capacity to plan, manage and monitor environmental issues and to reduce environmental pollution from different sources in the project area. The project has also been a pilot project for regional administration since its start in 2001. SEAM-N is now in its third and completion phase. It will conclude in 2014.

 

Trade/Investment

Trade between Nepal and Finland is sill insignificant, as shown in the table below:

 

 

A MoU between FNCCI and its Finnish counterpart was signed in 1993 during the then Nepalese Prime Minister’s Visit to Finland. Similarly, an agreement between Nepal and Finland on Promotion and Protection of Investment was signed l on 3 February 2009.

 

Finnish firms have some significant investments in Nepal. Department of Industry data reveals that there were 5 joint ventures with the Finnish investment of Rs. 2.5 million until July 2012, which created 149 jobs in Nepal.

 

Tourism

Though number of Finnish tourist arrival in Nepal at present is not considerable, there is prospect of attracting more Finnish tourists in the future. In 2010 and 2011, Finnish visitors travelling to Nepal stood at 3,284 and 2,276, respectively.