Nepal-Ireland Relations

Political/Diplomatic

Nepal and Ireland established diplomatic relations on 19 August 1999. The Embassy of Nepal in London is concurrently accredited to Ireland while the Irish Embassy in India is concurrently accredited to Nepal.

Nepal and Ireland are distant by geography but are very close by the ties of arts and culture. Both the countries share similar views on peace, friendship, brotherhood and global fraternity.

Meetings and exchange of visits

Nepal-Ireland relations have been strengthened by the exchange of visit at different levels. Such visits include the visit of the heads of the National Parliament and other high-level dignitaries of the governments. The meetings between the high-level dignitaries of the two countries have further consolidated the bilateral ties.

President Mrs. Bidya Devi Bhandari had a meeting with her Irish counterpart President Mary Robinson on the sidelines of the High-Level Event on ‘Women in Power’ in New York on 12 March 2019. Similarly, Minister for Foreign Affairs Mr. Pradeep Kumar Gyawali and his Irish counterpart had held a virtual meeting in May 2020.

In addition to this, there have been regular exchange of visits from the heads of the National Parliaments between the two countries. Speaker of the Irish Parliament Seán Ó Fearghaíl visited Nepal, leading a parliamentary delegation, in September 2019 and Rt. Hon. Jerry Buttimer, Chairman of the Irish Senate visited Nepal, leading a Parliamentary delegation, in January 2024.

Speaker of House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Mr. Devraj Ghimire visited Ireland in September 2023.

Bilateral Cooperation

Nepal and Ireland have huge scope of cooperation in agriculture and food processing, service sector, trade and tourism.

Ireland provided its support and assistance during the 2015 earthquake and the Covid-19 pandemic. In the aftermath of devastating earthquake of April 2015, the Irish government provided humanitarian assistance worth of Euro 1.5 million and deployed a five-member Irish Rapid Response Corps in Kathmandu.

Similarly, Nepal received Irish support during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic through the EU Civil Protection Mechanism. 

Parliamentary Cooperation

There have been frequent visits at the parliamentary level from and to Ireland. Similarly, the Parliamentary Friendship Groups have been formed in the National Parliament of both the countries. The Ireland-Nepal Parliamentary Friendship Group was formed in the Parliament of Ireland in 2017, and it was re-constituted in February 2021. Likewise, Nepal-Ireland Parliamentary Friendship Group was formed in the Nepali Parliament in 2018 and, has been re-constituted in December 2024.

Trade and Investment

Bilateral trade between Nepal and Ireland is heavily in the favour of Ireland. Readymade garments, paper products, silk fabrics, silver jewellery are main items Nepal exports to Ireland. Similarly, processed food and electrical goods were main import items from Ireland. The table below reflects the export/import trends between the two countries.

Value in USD (in thousand)

                                                                                 Source: TEPC, ITC

As of July 2023, there were nine projects with total Irish FDI of NRs. 370.97 million, generating employment opportunities for 429 people.

Relationship at the peoples’ level

Nepal-Ireland relations have been further cemented by growing people-to-people contacts. More than 3,000 Irish tourists visit Nepal every year and approximately 5,000 number of vibrant Nepali community live in Ireland.

Europe and the Americas Division
Ministry of Foreign Affairs

As of January 2025