88R10727 BPG-D
By: Meza H.R. No. 137
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The United States and Nepal have enjoyed a strong
and productive friendship for 75 years; and
WHEREAS, On April 25, 1947, the U.S. became the second
country to establish diplomatic relations with Nepal; Nepal opened
its embassy in Washington, D.C., in 1958, and the American Embassy
in Kathmandu began operations the following year; since then,
high-level visits between the countries have reinforced our mutual
commitment, and our armies have regularly shared expertise in such
areas as training, disaster management, counterterrorism, security
cooperation, and peacekeeping capacity building; and
WHEREAS, The U.S. began extending development assistance to
Nepal in the early 1950s through the Point Four Program, supporting
transport, communication, agriculture, and other sectors; public
health aid through the years has ranged from malaria eradication
efforts in the middle of the last century to the donation of
millions of doses of vaccine during the COVID-19 pandemic; and
WHEREAS, Following devastating 2015 earthquakes, the United
States supplemented recovery aid by making Nepal one of the few
nations to hold a single-country trade preference with the U.S.,
and total annual bilateral trade has reached some $300 million; in
2022, the Nepalese government ratified the Millennium Challenge
Corporation Nepal Compact with the U.S. to join in the effort of
modernizing the country's energy and transportation sectors; and
WHEREAS, Many Americans and Nepalis have formed
people-to-people connections through educational and cultural
exchanges; in 2018, Nepal ranked among the top 12 sources of
overseas students in the U.S., and the number of Americans studying
in Nepal has increased as well; the beauty and cultural wealth of
Nepal have drawn people from all over the world to the country, and
Americans are a major contributor to its vibrant tourist industry;
the U.S. Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation has invested
nearly $4 million over the past two decades in 25 projects in Nepal;
and
WHEREAS, For generations, the United States and Nepal have
worked together in behalf of shared goals and democratic values,
and the bonds of friendship continue to strengthen with the passing
of the years; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the 75th anniversary of the
establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and
Nepal.