Nepal and Denmark established diplomatic relations on 15 December 1967. The relations between the two countries have always been smooth and are based on friendship, understanding and cooperation.
Nepal opened its residential Embassy in Copenhagen in 2007. Demark had maintained its residential representation in Kathmandu from 1992 to 2017. Now, it has its Honorary Consulate in Kathmandu.
Both countries share common views on many issues and have been supporting each other in various international fora, including the United Nations.
Exchange of Visits/ High Level meetings:
Exchange of visits and contacts at various levels has further strengthened the bilateral ties between the two countries. The visits from Nepali side includes the visit of head of the state, prime minister, foreign minister, other government ministers and parliamentarians. Similarly, the visit from the Danish side includes the visit of the member of the Royal family, government ministers and parliamentarians.
In the past, King Birendra in 1989, Prime Minister Manamohan Adhikari in 1995, Foreign Ministers Chakra Prasad Bastola (2001), Ms. Sujata Koirala (2008) and Mr. Upendra Yadav (2010) and speaker of the House of Representative Daman Nath Dhungana (1992) visited Denmark.
The recent visit from Danish side was the visit of the then Crown Prince (current King of Denmark), His Highness Frederik André Henrik, in his capacity as the Honorary Commissioner of Danish Red Cross in 2015 to oversee the post-earthquake relief operations with support from the Danish Red Cross.
Bilateral Consultation Mechanism:
The Foreign Ministries of the two countries signed a MoU on establishing Bilateral Consultation Mechanism (BCM) on 11 June 2018. The Mechanism provides an opportunity to discuss the bilateral relations and cooperation as well as share views on matters of regional and global common concerns.
The first meeting of Mechanism was held in Copenhagen on the same day the MoU on establishing the BCM was signed. The second meeting of Mechanism was held virtually on 9 November 2020.
Parliamentary Engagements
A six-member Nepal-Denmark Parliamentary Friendship Group has been constituted in the Federal Parliament of Nepal in December 2024 to further strengthen the parliamentary relations between the two countries.
Development Cooperation:
In 1989, Nepal became a program country for Danish development assistance. Though, there exists no active Danish development cooperation for last few years, there were many projects in the past that received the Danish funding. Major projects completed under Danish Assistance in the past include Education for All, Secondary Education Support Program, Kailali-Kanchanpur Rural Electrification, Revenue Administration Support, Participatory Constitution Building, HRC and EC etc. Denmark also extended its cooperation in National Rural & Renewable Energy Programme (NRREP), Peace, Rights and Governance Programme (PRGP), UNNATI-Inclusive Growth Programme in Nepal.
Denmark extended support to Nepal during the earthquake of 2015.
Trade and Investment:
Nepal mainly exports coffee, tea, plants and parts of plants, rum, handicrafts, silver products, ready-made garments, woollen goods and carpets, Nepali paper and paper products to Denmark. Similarly, Nepal imports machinery and parts, medicine and medical equipment, industrial raw materials, food and edible items, dairy products etc. from Denmark.
The table below reflects the trend of export/import between the two countries.
Value in USD ‘000
|
Year |
Export |
Import |
Balance |
|
2021 |
5,214 |
6,514 |
-1,360 |
|
2022 |
7,211 |
3,577 |
3,634 |
Source: TEPC
As of July 2023, there were 37 projects with total Danish FDI of NRs. 432.13 million, creating 1551 jobs.
Tourism and People-to-People relations
Around four thousand Danish tourists visit Nepal every year. Similarly, approximately six thousand Nepalis are estimated to be living in Denmark. The Danish tourists visiting Nepal and Nepali community living in Denmark have been contributing to foster the Nepal-Denmark relations at the peoples’ level.
Europe and Americas Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
As of January 2025
