TITLE: Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Nepal.

SUMMARY: Commemorating the 75th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the United States and Nepal.

FULL TEXT:
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.