Administrator Samantha Power at a Press Conference in Nepal

ADMINISTRATOR SAMANTHA POWER: Thank you, Ambassador. It's wonderful to be with you this evening. I'd like to start by offering condolences, the deepest condolences I can offer to the people of Türkiye and Syria, who are continuing to go through a horrifying ordeal after the devastating earthquake from just a few days ago. The scale of the destruction is almost incomprehensible, the loss of life, the buildings, the hospitals, the schools destroyed. And as every day we see the numbers of people who have been killed in the earthquake go up, we have to imagine the cascading ripples of pain across so many families and communities.

Of course, we've also seen these last few days the best of people, as first responders have stepped up from all around the world, including from the United States, to try to save as many people as they can and support the Turkish first responders who are there working day and night, to try to save as many lives as they can in bitter cold and in very perilous conditions.

I know that the earthquake in Türkiye and Syria hits particularly hard here in Nepal after what the Nepalese people endured so recently. I know the painful memories that the images out of Türkiye and Syria bring back for so many families and communities here. I think the people of this country, Nepal, understand uniquely the devastation that accompanies an earthquake and also the long journey that lies ahead, the long displacement journey for so many families, the long rebuilding journey. But being here this week was also a reminder of what's possible in a country like this, where there is such a palpable determination, such a palpable spirit of resilience.

And I'm very grateful to have had the chance to pay my first visit to Nepal at a moment where society has come out and again and again made clear through its voice and its votes that democracy is here to stay in Nepal, and that all people, all members of society, all government leaders, have a wonderful opportunity to strengthen democratic institutions to strengthen the rule of law, and to safeguard this precious institution that we in the United States ourselves learned, you can never take for granted.

Democracy is a difficult and messy process at times but it is the means of government that gives the people of a country the chance to hold leaders accountable when the citizens of a country believe that those leaders have not delivered and thus, it has the potential again and again for self-renewal and for improvement.

Democracy and democratic development is also absolutely pivotal for economic development, and this is critical, of course for Nepal, as it continues to progress away from being a least-developed country to achieve middle-income status. And we all know the journey that Nepal has already taken but that there are many challenges, of course, economically, that lie ahead.

I've had the chance on this visit to see some of you before at various stops. But I met with civil society leaders who are taking on human trafficking, who are empowering women and young people fighting for inclusion, along gender basis, by ethnicity, by caste, by religion, and fighting for a more equal Nepal. I met with entrepreneurs at SEAN Seed Service Center, who have developed new hybrid seeds that are going to help Nepal feed its people and grow its economy. And we know, being here in Nepal in a year that has seen simultaneously horrific floods earlier in 2022 and now an ongoing drought, where farmers are waiting for the rains and can no longer predict the weather patterns, how important it is going to be to have the private sector contributing to the cause of adaptation to helping farmers get through these really different conditions than farmers have grown accustomed to dealing with over the years.

After a spirited game of basketball yesterday, I also had the chance to speak with young women and young men at Adarsha School. This was a school that USAID built back in 1966 and then had the privilege of helping rebuild since it was very severely damaged in the earthquake. Listening to these young people talk about their dreams, how determined they were to cram as much education in as they could, the way they took advantage of the resources that this newly rebuilt school had to offer, including in computer science and information technology, and their determination to give back to their families and to their communities. Virtually all of the young people — in fact, all of the young people I met and had the chance to engage with about their future career plans — said that they intended to become IT professionals. Every one of about ten students shared that ambition with me. So, I am very confident in Nepal's digital future on the basis of its young people and their talents.

The United States is committed to helping Nepal harness all of this kind of vibrant energy. As many of you know, the partnership between the United States and Nepal goes back 75 years, and together, we have achieved extraordinary progress.

With Nepali people on the front lines, we have worked together to control the spread of malaria, cut infant mortality rates in half, doubling the amount of cultivated farmland, and built hospitals and schools like Adarsha after the devastating earthquake. And this really is just a small sampling of the fruits of the partnership between our two countries.

Earlier this afternoon, I had the chance to meet with Prime Minister Dahal. I congratulated him on his election, and we had a very productive conversation about how Nepal can meet the potential of this moment. The Prime Minister said that he was committed to further strengthening Nepal's democracy by completing the peace process. And clearly, he takes very special pride in just how much the Nepalese people have overcome in strengthening the peace since the civil war came to an end and doing that, from the bottom up with so many parts of Nepalese society involved, and I think he's very proud of the risk that that entails in being willing to make peace. Making peace always looks easy in retrospect, but it's very hard if you're involved in processes like that one.

He also talked about his commitment to pursue an ambitious reform agenda. We talked at great length about his prioritization of streamlining, what can be a rather cumbersome set of bureaucratic procedures and processes that can sometimes deter foreign investment or private sector mobilization. And he talked about the importance of continuing to strengthen federalism, and to bring millions more Nepalis into the democratic process. I shared with him that USAID plans to invest nearly $60 million to advance democratic progress, resources that will help make the budget process more inclusive and equitable and transparent to the citizenry of this country, resources that will help support independent media, and civil society and resources that will protect the rights of historically marginalized communities. I hope that we will continue these conversations at the Summit for Democracy, which as you all know, will occur next month.

I also conveyed to Prime Minister Dahal as well as Finance Minister Paudel, who I've met earlier in the day, how committed we are at USAID to helping Nepal achieve its development goals and attain middle-income status by 2030.

Already USAID's Feed the Future program — our flagship food security program — has helped more than 800,000 Nepalese in the agricultural sector increase their incomes and boost economic growth. But we know that there is much more potential in the agricultural sector here. We also know that there is a lot more potential in the tourism sector, in the clean energy sector, and across the economy. I encouraged the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister to mobilize sustainable foreign and domestic investment by solving outstanding taxation issues, streamlining the regulatory environment, to make it easier for businesses and more attractive, and to improve communication with private sector leaders, including so many in this country who have a wealth of knowledge and experience that many are very interested in deploying to help their fellow citizens tackle some of the challenges confronting this country. I also encouraged government leaders to work to promote entrepreneurship among women, and in historically marginalized communities. There is an enormous source of economic growth potential, that in too many places is still going untapped.

I also know that Nepal is already committed to growing its tourism sector and you have a new evangelist in me. I'm going to be talking for quite some time about the run that I took this morning with Mira Rai — the stunning Kopan monastery, the treasures at Patan Durbar Square. You know, whether it's adventure tourism in the mountains that goes well beyond tracking, the spiritual richness, the cultural heritage, the history, the beauty — there's just so much here in this country that I know Americans and tourists from all around the world would benefit from enjoying. And so, again, we are very excited at USAID through our programming in the competitive economy domain, to helping strengthen the tourism sector, which already accounts for roughly 8 percent of the country's GDP but we think given this bounty of resources and richness and the warmth and hospitality of the Nepali people, that the tourism sector could be generating significantly more resources in the years ahead.

As the Nepali people work to advance democracy, drive inclusive economic growth, and extend dignity to every person, they will have, just as they have had for the last 75 years, a friend and partner in the United States. That you can count on. And with that, I'm eager to take your questions.

Thank you.

QUESTION: Administrator Power, I'm Phanindra Dahal, I work for the BBC. My question is, where does Nepal fit in the U.S. policy towards South Asia? And you just mentioned that you would have further conversation with Nepali Prime Minister during the Summit for Democracy. So, does it mean that he will be invited to attend the event, if it is going to take place in Washington? Thank you.

ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Thank you. I'm just going to look at my Ambassador to confirm that it's – but the invitation, I believe, is already very much extended. And the Summit will be held, largely virtually and I think that will give the Prime Minister the opportunity as well to take stock of the reforms and the implementation of the commitments that were made at the last summit, as well as to lay out what his plans are.

Also, to strengthen the rule of law and to strengthen democratic institutions in this country. And that really was the substance of the discussion I had with him earlier, was, you know, it can be tempting in every democracy to focus on, of course, naturally, you know, who, for example, the president of a country is, or the prime minister is. But I think all of us who are privileged to serve in public office as public servants, our most impactful investments are the investments we make in institutions, the institutions that will outlast us. And so, that, I think, is where the emphasis was with the prior government, when they made their commitments at the last Summit for Democracy. And, of course, implementation always takes time. But it's an important roadmap. And, you know, we've been very heartened to see civil society leaders in Nepal also actively engaging to press for accelerated progress on the commitments that were made last time, while also presenting ideas for the new government about what they may wish to commit to and pledge to at this coming Summit.

In terms of Nepal, and kind of where it fits. I mean, what I would say there is that I do think that the depth and length and scope of the U.S.-Nepali relationship speaks to the enduring friendship and partnership between our two peoples. And certainly, from the U.S. side, our enduring commitment to the dignity and the opportunity that every Nepali person seeks for themselves and for their loved ones. And I mentioned it, or put it in these terms, because, you know, there's no question of course, that geopolitics shift. They shifted, you know, during the Cold War they shifted after the Cold War. Now you know, there are different geopolitical dynamics that serve as a backdrop to anything that any country does anywhere in the world.

But I would focus on the work, you know, the work we do together, the impact of that work, whether on those 800,000 Nepali farmers I mentioned, or those young people at the Adarsha School who are able to go back to the classroom and have access to state of the art technology, I would focus on the way in support, again, of your efforts, the United States came forward in the wake of the earthquake to help you build back better, to build back buildings and hospitals and schools in a manner that will make them less prone to destruction should calamity strike again.

You know, this investment by the United States in Nepal is not the product of any geopolitical dynamic, it is the product of the United States’ commitment, proven, you know, decade after decade after decade, to the welfare of the people of this country.

And we get a lot out of this partnership and this friendship as well, certainly I have on my visit, given the warmth and the spectacular way in which when given even the slightest opportunity with the industry and the ingenuity that Nepalese are famous for, and that determination and that resilience, the Nepali people take advantage of those opportunities. They insist that their democracy can be strengthened, they come out and they vote. And they vote and they vote again. And continue, again, in civil society, to press for the kind of inclusive and equitable growth that so many have aspired to for so long.

So, that is really our focus, the U.S. focus here. We think the model of development that works the best is one where we seek to work ourselves out of business. It is very rare that you visit a family or a country where people like the idea of receiving foreign assistance. They may need it, they may need to rebuild their home, or they may need those drought resistant seeds, but virtually, I think it's fair to say it's a universal aspiration to be able to fend for yourself and your family. And what people long for is opportunity. And so, the U.S. investment here is really predicated on that idea, that when given the opportunity, the dynamism of the people of this country will be unleashed, and assistance will recede, and the education and the resourcefulness of the people of this country will carry the country forward.

And so, an independent and sovereign Nepal is what we respect and with whom we partner. And our development model is that development in this country should be Nepali-led. And that is why the conversations I have had here in my few days in the country have been aimed at hearing what we can do to support the Nepali vision for how that development should progress.

QUESTION: Thank you, Excellency, for this opportunity. Again, I think you touched upon a bit on the same question, but then I just would like to ask again. In Nepal, you have seen a section of people tend to see all U.S. development support from the lens of security. And they kind of say that all the support that the U.S. is giving out of the geopolitical consideration. So, is there any, like, you know, link between development assistance and the geopolitics that is undergoing in the broader Asia Pacific region at a global level? Is there anything — like is this just a perception or is this real? Thank you.

ADMINISTRATOR POWER: I come back to the point that I tried to make before, which is that the evidence of our concern for and commitment to the Nepali people, for their own sake, is 75 years’ worth of evidence to that effect. You know, it is in roads and schools, and more and more will be in small and medium sized enterprises that are able to get access to financing to expand their businesses, it is in the female, professional class in Nepal, that some of whom might have had access to a USAID program that might have just given them a little bit of confidence, when they were younger to believe that they could, in fact, pursue their dreams of becoming a tech entrepreneur or a medical doctor.

You know, I think that the evidence lives in the hearts of so many of the Nepalese, at least that I met, on my, again, relatively short visit. But also, even in the encounter I had with the Prime Minister today, where he described being at age 24, an agricultural worker, who one of his first jobs was in a USAID program, trying to help farmers expand their yields. I mean, in so many parts of this country, there are stories like this, it's incredibly inspiring for me, who is relatively new to USAID to go out and to talk to people and to hear their memories of what things might have been like, and then maybe just a small infusion of support or technical assistance, or, you know, de-risking so that the private sector might feel comfortable doing this or that, you know, can just move something in a positive direction.

And, you know, again, you don't have to take my word for it, that we care about the Nepalese people for their own sake, I think, I really do think the history of the relationship between our two countries speaks for itself. And the fact that more and more we do get this question, I mean, it's not a coincidence that the first two questions were of this nature that they're — the question marks have been raised. I think some of that stems from a problem that we deal with in our — in the United States as well, which is rampant misinformation, and in general, all around the world, not just in Nepal, more and more polarization. You know, people sometimes finding issues that divide us rather than those that unite us. And then, you know, sometimes people get confused.

But, you know, we believe in the United States that it is in the long-term interests of the American people, for democracy and democratic institutions to be stronger, for citizens to be able to access social services, health care, education, for everywhere in the world for the next generation to be better off than the generation before. And now, because of climate change, we also feel a historic responsibility, because we in the United States have been a major emitter of carbon and countries like Nepal, that have done very, very little to contribute to global warming are feeling the effects of that. So, that too gives us a sense of responsibility to make these investments. But I think what you'll see is our work is definitely evolving. We try to evolve to meet new challenges like climate change, like Nepal's journey to middle-income status, we want always to adapt, we want to bring the private sector in much more and be much more active in that space than maybe we were 10 or 15 years ago. But the enduring features of the relationship are partnership, respect, and a desire to see the Nepalese people choose their own development path.

QUESTION: Administrator, this is Jagadishor Pandey from Kantipur Newspaper. So, my question is, you have explained that USAID has been contributing Nepal for the 60th year. So, how do you evaluate your journey in Nepal?

ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Our learning? Yes. So, maybe the way I will answer that question is — talk about the way ahead, which I think is reflective of our learning. You know, I think that you've heard me speak about the importance of inclusion and equality under the law, equality of opportunity. I think that we at USAID are trying also to practice, not just development, but inclusive development. And I think it's fair to say that in years past, often, we have supported development outcomes in Nepal and development partners, often through international partners, or through outside organizations. And what is happening now is we are shifting to work more and more directly with local Nepali organizations.

We are also increasing our government-to-government assistance. And, you know, this, long ago, this was how USAID did its work in countries like Nepal. But what has happened back in Washington is there are a lot of requirements for compliance and a lot of paperwork. And it can be very complicated to enter into a grant or contracting relationship with USAID. So, we are trying to streamline those processes, make ourselves more nimble, you know, quicker, more flexible, and invest not only in development outcomes that we hope to see tomorrow, but invest in the capacity of the organizations, the Nepali organizations that we know are going to carry on this work long after we Americans may have cycled through and maybe gone back home.

So, that's one difference, I think is more investment in local organizations, and increase where the conditions allow in government-to-government programming. You know, we're doing more programming on financial management, and of the nature that I mentioned in my opening remarks.

You may know, also, that the vast majority of USAID's staff in Nepal are Nepali citizens. They are maybe engineers, they are public health professionals, they are economists, or they may have worked at USAID and developed such insight into small and medium sized enterprises and who's who and you know, where the greatest growth potential is. We are working within USAID to empower those individuals even more to make sure that they can rise according to their talent and be recognized as much as they should be. But also, as we hire our Nepali staff, we also are going to look geographically beyond where we often hire and from communities that may not traditionally have been part of our USAID team, so as ourselves to be as inclusive as possible in the approach we take to development.

And then the last thing I'd say, which is really, I think, a very important and necessary shift is USAID has always — or for many years, let's say — USAID has sought to help communities and governments create the enabling environment that would make investment attractive. So, we've worked and provided technical assistance that is in itself kind of catalytic, where we might hear from a multinational corporation or a local Nepali bank what the regulatory burdens are that make it unattractive to invest or to set up a business or to expand a business. And then we have worked in support of reformers to try to improve the enabling environment. So, that has long been a part of our model.

I think now, because with pandemics and climate change, and supply chain challenges, and Putin's invasion of Ukraine, and the food and fertilizer prices that grow out of that, we recognize that we just need to do even more to make the private sector a partner in every country where we work’s development journey. And so, more and more, I'd say if you ask for a lesson, or at least a shift, it is to view USAID resources as catalytic, as resources that we leverage to try to get companies or foundations or the multilateral development banks or other donors to come in as well so that every dollar we put in support of one of Nepal's development objectives, we try to multiply that dollar because if we don't, we can't keep up with the economic headwinds that or even just the single challenge of adapting to climate change that Nepal and many, many other countries are going through. So, we feel that we have an urgent responsibility to take the public resources, the U.S. government's resources, and try to multiply them by bringing in others who may not have previously seen themselves as development agents.

QUESTION: I'm Prarambha Dahal Kantipur TV with Kantipur Television, English News. Administrator Power, you've touched upon the issue of climate change. Can you please shed some light regarding the conversations you had with the Prime Minister earlier today? In particular ways because the impact of climate change is quite evident on children and women in Nepal? So, was anything in particular discussed with the meeting earlier today with the Prime Minister?

ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Well, I think, you know, he spoke about climate change from the standpoint of somebody who really knows the land of this country, who started working in agriculture and knows the seasons and what is to be expected — or what for much of his life and much of everyone's life was to be expected — and just spoke with realism about how much has changed for the people who work the land today. And we talked a little bit about the horrible flooding that Nepal experienced last year and now the ongoing drought and the concern that so many farmers have starting last year and now coming into this year. And so, I think it was just understood that with this changing climate, we need to embed, we collectively, with the Nepali people in the driver's seat and us in a support role and a partnership role. But we need to embed a consideration of these new climate dynamics into, for example, the government's agricultural reform agenda.

We at USAID need to think about climate change across all sectors, we need to think about what young people are learning in our education programming, we need to think about digital technology and our work on IT, in terms of also some of the early warning programming that USAID can offer through NASA, and NOAA and other scientific agencies, which can empower the farmer to know what these changing seasonal weather patterns are going to mean. We can equip farmers through our Feed the Future program, you know, with soil mapping and understanding of how to apply fertilizer, especially with fertilizer prices as high as they have been this last year.

So, you know, I think the detailed discussions about the partnership, about how climate is embedded into virtually all aspects of our partnership, will be the conversations that our mission and our embassy will be having in the days ahead with the Prime Minister's relatively new team. But I think we had broad agreement that unless we can build in resilience across our programming, and bring in attention to and consideration of climate effects into all of our programming, some of the really important development gains that Nepal has made will be at risk.

So, that is something that, you know, in every country, we at USAID are having to do is to sort of step back and say, okay, what is this now going to mean for our health programming? I mean, now, given the climates are different, mosquito patterns are different. You know, we all know that the changing climate many scientists believe is going to cause a greater risk of future pandemics. Well, what does that mean, beyond the support that we provided through vaccines and other COVID-19 assistance? How do we take, you know, the partnership that was deepened through that work together, and also ensure that Nepal's health system is prepared in the horrible event that, you know, either a new variant of COVID-19, or a new virus altogether, comes in and endangers the lives of Nepali citizens.

So, I think that was the spirit of the conversation, it needs to be a design feature. President Biden, of course, as you know, is deeply committed to bringing down America's own emissions, the Inflation Reduction Act being the largest ever climate investment that the United States has made. But we know that for countries like Nepal, the effects are already being felt and so, we prioritize an adaptation and resilience mindset now, across every sector, and that's what we look forward to working with the government to do as well.

QUESTION: Namaste. Good evening. [Inaudible] There is a global debate on the effectiveness of foreign aid. Since U.S. is the first aid provider of Nepal, how do we evaluate the effectiveness of U.S. aid in Nepal? Thank you.

ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Thank you. Well, I think that as my previous exchange indicated, we are seeking to evolve now that climate shocks are such a frequent occurrence. Seeking to evolve not just what we do, or which sectors we work in, but how we do it, to work more directly with our local partners and to take their lead to make sure that we are not coming in and ourselves from outside, dictating, you know, how things will go, but that we are listening and learning and iterating. So I think that there is no question that the 75 years in which the United States and Nepal have been working together, the 60 plus years that USAID has been working to improve development, has made a profound difference. I've heard that firsthand from so many of the people that I've engaged with.

But, you know, I think given the magnitude of these complex interlocking challenges and the recognition that foreign aid alone is, number one, not the goal, right? It's a means to creating sustainable indigenous development. It's a nudge, right, it's not a solution. It's a support structure. And but given the complex challenges that the traditional ways of providing assistance need to adapt, need to be more catalytic, need to bring in private sector actors. We've just at USAID created a new private sector engagement fund called the Edge Fund, a $50 million fund where we've said to the world, to the private sector, if you have a development idea and a little bit of USAID catalytic resource would help you get that idea off the ground and it stands a chance of improving health or education, or digitizing, or addressing climate change in some fashion, let's do a partnership.

And so, again, I think foreign assistance has done tremendous good, it works the best when the ideas come from the communities in which we work and when development actors are held accountable by those communities, it works the best when the design process is inclusive and the partners that we work with come from the broadest range of society so that we are not perpetuating inequality inadvertently, but instead seeking to contribute to a more just and equal societies. And foreign assistance is at its best when it is self-reflective and self-critical, and always open to new ideas and to constructive feedback. And so, when we go out in the field and talk to our partners, that is what we asked for, that is what we expect. We want to abide by strict environmental safeguards. We believe that civil society has a critical role to play in development, not just government. And again, we believe that our ultimate objective is to see a country in which we have provided assistance, become a trading partner, so to move from aid to trade, not to create dependence, but to encourage independence. And certainly, that is the journey we are on together here in Nepal.

Thank you so much.