A senior official of the United States Peace Corps, Scott Beale, arrived in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
According to a press release issued by the US Embassy in Kathmandu, Peace Corps Associate Director of the Office of Global Operations, Beale, arrived on a two-day visit to Nepal.
Today, he met Foreign Secretary Bharat Raj Paudyal at the latter's office in Singha Durbar. During the meeting, he informed the foreign secretary about the return of Peace Corps volunteers to Nepal starting early 2023.
Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the US government had stopped sending Peace Corps volunteers to foreign countries including Nepal in March 2020. There were 124 Peace Corps volunteers and trainees in Nepal working in the areas of agriculture, health, and education.
"While in Kathmandu, Associate Director Beale will meet with government and civil society representatives to discuss the plans to return Peace Corps Volunteers to Nepal," according to the embassy.
Peace Corps first established operations in Nepal in September 1962. Since then, nearly 4,000 Americans come to Nepal working in multiple sectors and across the country.
What is Peace Corps?
The Peace Corps is an international service network of volunteers, community members, host country partners and staff who are driven by the agency’s mission of world peace and friendship.
Then US President John F. Kennedy had established the Peace Corps in 1961. Since then, 240,000 Americans have served in 142 countries worldwide.
"At the invitation of governments around the world, Peace Corps volunteers work alongside community members on locally-prioritized projects in the areas of education, health, environment, agriculture, community economic development and youth development.
Through service, members of the Peace Corps network develop transferable skills and hone intercultural competencies that position them to be the next generation of global leaders." the embassy said.
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