Germany and Nepal have maintained bilateral relations since 1958.

In 2022, the German Government decided to continue its development policy cooperation with Nepal. Germany’s support focuses primarily on improving the healthcare system, promoting renewable energies and energy efficiency, and fostering sustainable economic development. Support for the development of Nepal’s new federal structures is an overarching theme.

Germany has supported Nepal’s efforts to consolidate and improve democratic structures since the peace and democratisation process was launched in 2016. Another important element of Germany’s engagement in Nepal is its support for the peace process, because the impact of the civil war from 1996 to 2006 can still be felt today.

The severe earthquakes in April and May 2015 were a setback also for Nepal’s economic development. The German Government has provided 35 million euro for reconstruction and humanitarian assistance. Private donors in Germany raised some 113 million euro.

Numerous German non-governmental organisations are working in and for Nepal, building up a close-knit network of citizens in the two countries.

Germany is an important market for carpets and textile products from Nepal. The country’s main imports from Germany are machinery and industrial products. In 2021, the bilateral volume of trade totalled approximately 70 million euro. An investment agreement has been in place since 1986. The first German-Nepalese Business Forum took place in Kathmandu on 2 October 2019.

The Federal Foreign Office has supported cultural preservation projects (e.g. in Bhaktapur and Patan) for many years, since 2016 in cooperation with the Gerda Henkel Foundation.