Overview
Nepal, located in the Himalayas, is a landlocked country in South Asia, with a population of around 30 million. Renowned for its diverse geography, climate, population, and biodiversity, it is also among the world's most vulnerable countries to natural disasters.
Over recent decades, Nepal has achieved considerable progress on human development, poverty reduction, and economic growth.
Our partnership
The EU is committed to supporting Nepal's journey towards democracy and federalism, as outlined in its Constitution of 2015, alongside its goals for sustainable and inclusive development. These efforts align with Nepal's Five-Year Plan, the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and are further complemented by the EU's Global Gateway Strategy and the EU Indo-Pacific Strategy.
Team Europe in Nepal brings together the EU, the European Investment Bank, Finland, France, and Germany. Together with Nepal, we focus on three priorities: inclusive green growth, human capital development, and good governance and civil society.
The EU has allocated € 209 million in grant funding to its partnership with Nepal for the period 2021-2024 and a further EUR 113 million for the 2025-2027 period. Additionally, Nepal benefits from various multi-country EU programmes.EU-Nepal partnership programming documents can be found in the 'Related documents' section below.
Our key initiatives
- Green growth
The EU partners with Nepal to support inclusive and green economic growth, with a strong focus on energy production and connectivity, climate resilience, sustainable agriculture and forestry, and private sector development. Key initiatives include:
- Supporting energy production, transmission and connectivity through technical assistance, institutional support to Nepal Electricity Authority, and upgrading of substations, transformers, and conductors.
- Expanding electricity networks and regional trade through the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) Transmission and Distribution Strengthening Project, including development of a 400 kV east-west transmission backbone and modernising grids in major cities.
- Enhancing local adaptation to climate change in Sudurpashchim and Karnali provinces by building capacity of local governments and supporting the implementation of local adaptation plans.
- Promoting climate-resilient local economic development in the same provinces, improving value chains, market access, and local governance.
- Strengthening private sector development and trade through the EU-Nepal Trade and Investment Programme (TIP), offering technical assistance on trade policy and support to value chains such as coffee and pashmina.
- Human development, governance and civil society
Together with Nepal, the EU is investing in human development, with a focus on quality education, equity, skills, and health. Our common efforts focus on:
- Improving access to inclusive and equitable education in an “Education for all” approach, by supporting Nepal’s School Education Sector Plan (SESP) and promoting girls’ education and teacher training.
- Supporting civil society in education by promoting inclusive participation and policy dialogue.
- Promoting gender equality by fostering decent work, social rights and women entrepreneurship, and combatting gender-based violence.
- Expanding sustainable water and sanitation access, supporting the construction of sanitation facilities and safe drinking water sources in 42 municipalities in Karnali Province.
- Enhancing nutrition under Nepal’s Multi-Sector Nutrition Plan, by increasing access to and use of nutrition services, and improving practices in health, nutrition, and hygiene.
- Providing budget support for the federalism reform to reinforce the government and elected officials in all seven provinces so they can implement their functions effectively in the federal structure.
