Across Borders: A Story of Norway-Nepal Relationships

About the Book The relationship between Norway and Nepal goes back to the 1950s, when Norwegians first went to Nepal as workers, volunteers, diplomats, and backpacking travelers. Norway offered and Nepal warmly received financial and professional assistance. As of 2018, thousands of Nepalis and Norwegians have worked together to address Nepal's development issues and find practical solutions to age-old problems.

This book presents an overview of some of the projects that Norwegian individuals and organizations have initiated in Nepal, often in collaboration with Nepali partners. They include projects on energy, health, civil society, social affairs, environmental issues, urban and rural development, diplomacy, business and social enterprises, education, and culture. This is the story of a remarkable international friendship, some 70 years in the making and still going strong.

About the Author MARIT BAKKE is a retired Professsor in Sociology. After doing the Annapurna Circuit in 1984 and trekking around Manaslu in 1989, she decided it was time to explore beyond the mountains and learn more about Nepal's history and its people. Since 1999, Marit has combined treks in Nepal with a professional interest in culture and health communication. Nepal has offered a never-ending journey of discoveries of spectacular stupas, temples, and palaces in the Kathmandu Valley, and ancient mandus in Humla. She has collaborated in health related projects with dedicated Nepalis, many of whom have become good friends.

Foreword Information on contacts between Nepal and Norway abounds; project proposals, applications for funding, reports written by individuals and organizations, diaries, newsletters, and photos can be found in personal and official archives. This is the first time that some of this material has been used to describe the relationships between Nepal and Norway over the past sixty years. It is not the complete story, but nevertheless a beginning.

Many persons, organizations, and institutions have contributed. The initiative was taken by Bidur Dangol, Vajra Books in 2017: when I showed him the photos Knut Palmstrøm took in Nepal in 1957, he suggested that I write a book about Nepal Norway relationships. Then followed months of research in archives and interviewing people in Norway. Sandesh was already familiar with the Palmstrøm photos and agreed to assist with the photo production and layout.

Introduction Relationships between Nepal and Norway go back to the 1950s, when an array of Norwegians came to Nepal as professional workers. volunteers, or diplomats, while others came as individual travelers who had heard about the spectacular mountains and fascinating cultural heritage of the country.

This book offers an historical overview of the relationships between our two countries. It is organized in sections that cover specific fields of work. The distinction between the topics is sometimes blurred because the qualifications and expertise of some people enabled them to contribute in several fields.

The relationships developed in stages. During the early 1950s, Norwegian missionaries came to Nepal to establish health facilities and construct hydropower plants. Activities expanded during the 1960s and 1970s, particularly after Norway began providing development assistance to Nepal in 1964. Many of these projects were funded by the Norwegian Agency for International Development (NORAD), established in 1968. However, it took almost 30 years before Nepal was made a main partner country for Norwegian development cooperation in 1996.

**Contents and Sample Pages**