ancery: 2131 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 667-4550
FAX: [1] (202) 667-5534
consulate(s) general: New York

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph FRANK
embassy: Pani Pokhari, Kathmandu
mailing address: use embassy street address
telephone: [977] (1) 411179
FAX: [977] (1) 419963

Flag description: red with a blue border around the unique shape of
two overlapping right triangles; the smaller, upper triangle bears a
white stylized moon and the larger, lower triangle bears a white
12-pointed sun

@Nepal:Economy

Economy-overview: Nepal is among the poorest and least developed
countries in the world with more than half of its population living
below the poverty line. Agriculture is the mainstay of the economy,
providing a livelihood for over 80% of the population and accounting
for 40% of GDP. Industrial activity mainly involves the processing of
agricultural produce including jute, sugarcane, tobacco, and grain.
Production of textiles and carpets has expanded recently and accounted
for about 80% of foreign exchange earnings in the past two years.
Apart from agricultural land and forests, exploitable natural
resources are mica, hydropower, and tourism. Agricultural production
is growing by about 5% on average as compared with annual population
growth of 2.5%. Since May 1991, the government has been moving forward
with economic reforms particularly those that encourage trade and
foreign investment, e.g., by eliminating business licenses and
registration requirements in order to simplify investment procedures.
The government has also been cutting expenditures by reducing
subsidies, privatizing state industries, and laying off civil
servants. More recently, however, political instability - five
different governments over the past few years-has hampered Kathmandu's
ability to forge consensus to implement key economic reforms. Nepal
has considerable scope for accelerating economic growth by exploiting
its potential in hydropower and tourism, areas where there has
recently been foreign investment interest. Prospects for foreign trade
or investment in other areas will remain poor, however, because of the
small size of the economy, its technological backwardness, its
remoteness, its landlocked geographic location, and its susceptibility
to natural disaster. The international community's role of funding
more than 60% of Nepal's development budget and more than 2