DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS

Denmark’s Bilateral Engagement in Nepal

Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) has become one of the major development partners of Nepal. Nepal has a long-term strategic partnership with Denmark since 1989. Since then, Denmark focuses its development efforts in Nepal in the areas of education, renewable energy, human rights and good governance, peace process and business partnerships. "We also promote partnerships between Nepali and Danish companies and support culture initiatives in Nepal," said His Excellency Morten Jespersen, Danish Ambassador. Over the last 21 years, Danish development assistance has been improving the lives of rural Nepalis. "Through our partnership, millions of people in Nepal have gained access to electricity, education and better livelihoods. Also, public institutions and civil society organisations have been strengthened," said Jespersen.

Denmark’s development assistance is organised to allow for flexible and comprehensive development cooperation making use of a variety of instruments. The Danish development assistance in Nepal is based on Nepal’s own priorities and development strategies. Under its Danish Development Policy and the Extension for the Interim Strategy 2008- 2010, Denmark provided about USD 132 million in assistance to Nepal for poverty reduction and peace process during 2008-2010. Denmark expects to provide a grant of about USD 35 million to Nepal in 2012.

Education & Energy

Recognising education as the instrument for breaking the vicious cycle of poverty, Denmark has been a leading supporter of education in Nepal since 1992. The objective of Denmark’s support to education is to assist the Government of Nepal (GoN) in improving children’s access to education, enhancing the quality of public school education and developing institutional capacity. About 90 per cent of the Danish financial support to the Sector Wide Approach Programme is channelled through the GoN's budget based on a Joint Financing Arrangement (JFA) between the government and nine other development partners.

The remaining part of the Danish support is allocated to capacity development, technical assistance and monitoring and evaluation. Under its education programme (2009-2012) strategic framework, Denmark provided a grant of USD 40 million. It aims to provide a grant of USD 23 million for the education programme (2012-2013). The main partners of Danida for this programme are Government of Nepal and Ministry of Education.Likewise, the Danish support to the energy sector in Nepal began in the late 1990s. The objective of the programme is improving rural access to renewable energy in the form of improved cooking stoves, solar panels to households and micro-hydro installations in areas where there is no access to the national electric power network. The support also includes institutional strengthening of the public and private organisations in the renewable energy sector, funds for subsidy for the installation of renewable energy and technical support for the promotion of the technologies. Denmark has contributed with USD 27 million to the Phase II (2007-2012) of the programme. The Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) is the main partner of Danida for this programme. A new phase is being designed together with the Government and other donors.

Peace, Human Rights & Governance

Denmark’s peace support programme aims to promote a democratic political environment, with respect for human rights and the rule of law, and a peaceful resolution of the armed conflict and contribute to poverty reduction in a peace and conflict sensitive manner. Denmark has been supporting human rights and good governance in Nepal since 1998 through a programme of Human Rights and Good Governance implemented through DanidaHUGOU. At present, Denmark has committed USD 30 million for the Human Rights and Good Governance (Phase III) programme. Social inclusion, conflict transformation and accountability are overarching themes of the programme. The Phase III programme has three components.

• Inclusive Democracy: It focuses on the promotion of an inclusive and democratic political culture and system. The component supports the strengthening of democratic actors, institutions and public dialogue.

• Human Rights and Justice: It advances a safe and non-violent environment for all Nepali through support to human rights monitoring, reporting and advocacy and enhanced access to justice for poor and marginalised women and men.

• Local Governance: It supports a new national and multi-donor programme on local governance and community development. National Human Rights Commission, Election Commission, Ministry of Local Development and civil society organisations are the main partners of Danida for the Human Rights and Good Governance programme. The programme’s cooperation with civil society is based on longterm strategic partnerships with a limited number of organisations.

Denmark’s support to the peace process has been provided to a variety of actors at national and local level. The ongoing phase III peace process programme has a budget of USD 13 million and is designed to respond to the demands in Nepal through two strands- implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA), and strengthening of public security and progress in key enabling aspects of the wider peace process. Ministry of Peace and Reconstruction, the United Nations, and local and international NGOs are the main partners of the programme. The programme supported Nepal’s peace process Phase I and Phase II programme with USD 50 million each respectively.

Support to Bhutanese Refugees

Denmark has played an active role in negotiating long-term durable solutions for more than 100,000 refugees from Bhutan living in refugee camps in Nepal for nearly 20 years. In 2005, Denmark, Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway and the United States organised the Core Working Group (CWG) on Bhutanese Refugees in Nepal in order to encourage a comprehensive solution to the protracted refugee issue.

As of October 2011, more than 55,000 refugees from Bhutan have been resettled in CWG countries with the vast majority going to the United States. Denmark continues to be an active member of the CWG and to support the refugees from Bhutan in Nepal through continued pressure for durable solutions.

Along with advocacy, the Danish government provided emergency funds in 2009 and 2011 to World Food Programme (WFP) to cover a gap in food assistance, ensuring that refugees continued to receive their full food ration.

Denmark has also initiated the preparation of a new programme on growth and employment in Nepal. It will support Nepal in increasing economic growth with a focus on employment and improved living conditions. The programme is expected to be operational from mid- 2013. It will go hand-in-hand with the Danish business support mechanism “Danida Business Partnerships”.

The Danida Business Partnerships Programme aims to provide opportunities for support to business development in Nepal. The objective of the programme is to improve the competitiveness of Nepali companies through long-term partnerships between Nepali and Danish companies. The programme aims to support to realising a common commercial business idea and transfer of capacity and technology to Nepali companies.

In addition to bilateral assistance through the Danish Embassy, Denmark also provides assistance to the Nepali people through Danish NGOs operating in Nepal. They are- MS ActionAid Denmark, Care Nepal, Danchurch Aid, Ulandssekretariatet/ LO-FTF Council, Mission East,

Danish Red Cross, Disabled People's Organisation of Denmark (DPOD) and Trianglen. "Denmark doesn’t work alone in Nepal. On the contrary, it coordinates its efforts closely with the Government, civil society and a range of international partners and donors," said Jespersen.