215. Letter From King Birendra of Nepal to President Carter1
Kathmandu, February 7, 1977
Your Excellency,
Here in Nepal, we have been following with great interest your success in the Presidential elections and your recent inauguration.
I believe that this interest reflects the close bonds of friendship between our two peoples and I am confident that relations between Nepal and the United States of America will be further strengthened and will encompass other areas of mutual interest during Your Excellency’s Presidential tenure.
I wish to take this opportunity to write to you frankly some of my country’s problems and share with you my thoughts on how best we feel the United States can extend cooperation. Nepal is a small country situated between two of the world’s most highly populated countries. Our endeavor has been, and will always continue to be, to have relations of peace, friendship and cooperation with all countries of the world, but particularly with our two main neighbors, India and China. Our geographical location is in an area which has been the scene of armed conflict on several occasions in the last 30 years. Nepal has not been involved in any of these hostilities, and we would like this state of affairs to be perpetuated. It is in this context that I have proposed that Nepal be declared a Zone of Peace2. Any right-thinking person realizes that the energies and resources of a small, underdeveloped country like ours has to be channeled fully to the task of raising the living standard of our people. Acceptance of Nepal as a Zone of Peace, with reciprocal obligations on the part of other countries not to engage in hostile activities against Nepal and on the part of Nepal not to allow its soil to be used for hostile activities against other countries, would make it possible to devote ourselves fully to the task of economic development and would in its own way contribute to peace in the region and peace in the world. American understanding and support of Nepal as a Zone of Peace would be deeply appreciated by the people of Nepal.
I might mention here that, responding to the Nepali people’s deeply-cherished desire for peace, of the governments in this region, my government alone has signed and ratified the nuclear nonproliferation treaty. Your Excellency’s initiatives to stop the spread of nuclear arms and the possible means of their manufacture will meet the full support of the Nepali people, located, as our country is between two of the world’s six countries possessing nuclear technology.
Nepal’s problems as a landlocked country are, I believe, well appreciated by the American Government and people.
Your Excellency may not find it so easy with all your onerous duties to visit other countries in the early period of your Administration. May I, however, extend on behalf of the Government and people of Nepal an invitation for you and Mrs. Carter to visit Nepal at any time convenient to you. We have the highest respects for the ideals which the American people uphold and you can rest assured a warm welcome awaits you, however your visit may be organized, officially or unofficially.
Please convey warm good wishes from my wife and myself to Mrs. Carter. Please accept, Your Excellency, the assurances of my highest consideration.
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, P770071–040 No classification marking. Borg forwarded the letter to Brzezinski, as well as a draft reply from Carter to King Birenda, under a March 11 covering memorandum. (Ibid.)↩
- In his March 11 memorandum to Brzezinski (see footnote 1 above), Borg explained that the “purpose of the Zone of Peace proposal is to secure a pledge from India of non-interference in Nepal’s internal affairs, a key preoccupation for a country which is not just land-locked, but India-locked. However, India, which considers Nepal to lie within its strategic sphere, has reacted coolly to the proposal. Other countries, including the United States, have refrained from taking a position. The Ford Administration told the Nepalese privately that the U.S. would not comment until Nepal had worked out a specific understanding with its neighbors. We believe that this remains the best stance. U.S. endorsement of the Zone of Peace proposal at this stage would be viewed by India as gratuitous involvement in a bilateral matter of considerable importance to Delhi.”↩
220. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in Nepal1
Washington, July 12, 1978
Subject: Letter to the King of Nepal from President Carter
Your Majesty,
I appreciate your cordial and candid letter about our shared goals and principles. Your government has tempered the law with compassion in a way that sets an example for all of us. As I mentioned in my last letter, we have no intention of interfering in the judicial processes of your country. The Government of the United States fully respects each nation’s right to guarantee fundamental rights and govern itself in accordance with its own traditions.
We hope that all countries of South Asia will continue to search for peace and stability. The area has, in the past few years, seen a perceptible reduction of tensions as nations have addressed controversial issues in a cooperative manner. Some countries of the region, however, have now expressed concern about the recent events in Afghanistan. I, too, am concerned about the trend of events and about Soviet intentions, with their possible effects on the stability of South Asia. We believe that the wisest course is to try to maintain links with the new Afghan regime; we have, therefore, indicated our willingness to work with the new government in support of Afghanistan’s independence. At the same time, we have stressed our support for regional stability and for the peaceful settlement of problems among neighboring countries. We will continue to watch the situation closely, and I will ask Ambassador Heck to keep you informed of our view of the situation. I would be grateful for any advice that you might care to offer.
Your government has made a significant contribution to regional cooperation, peace, and stability. The United States continues to be interested in your proposal for regional development of the waters of the eastern part of the sub-continent. I also welcome your decision to examine the potential for developing the Karnali River basin. We are prepared, if requested, to join with other nations to cooperate with Nepal and India on the studies required for this project.
My country remains committed to meeting the concerns you mentioned in your letter, namely, that the people of a nation receive a fair share of the fruits of development. Development should have a direct impact on the lives of the rural poor; this is the purpose of the Peace Corps and increasingly, of A.I.D. Our joint projects to limit the degradation of the environment and improve the lives of the people of the Rapti zone are one step in this direction. Moreover, the rural development programs on which we are cooperating should help offset the loss of income that some small farmers have felt since the enactment of Nepal’s beneficial narcotics legislation.
Thank you very much for your kind invitation to visit your country. Although that may not be possible in the near future, I hope that we may have an opportunity to meet each other at a mutually convenient time and place. In the meantime, Ambassador Heck is keeping me informed of your views. I deeply appreciate hearing from you directly. Sincerely, Jimmy Carter.
- Source: National Archives, RG 59, Central Foreign Policy File, D780047–0236. Confidential; Immediate. Drafted by Percival; cleared in S/S–S and by Dubs and Thornton; approved by Lande.↩
(FOREIGN RELATIONS OF THE UNITED STATES, 1977–1980, VOLUME XIX, SOUTH ASIA)
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