Peace Corps Returns to Nepal



Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Asia Nisha Biswal signed an inter-agency agreement to re-establish a Peace Corps program in Nepal after a seven-year absence from the country. The agreement was signed at a ceremony at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., and attended by Nepali Ambassador to the United States Shankar Prasad Sharma, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Robert O. Blake, Jr., and returned Peace Corps volunteers from Nepal. The first group of approximately 20 Peace Corps volunteers is scheduled to arrive in Nepal later this year. The volunteers, will be trained as Agriculture-Nutrition Extensionists, and will work with rural communities to build local capacity in Global Health Initiative and the Feed the Future priority areas.

Peace Corps Returns to Nepal

Peace Corps Returns to Nepal

Peace Corps and U.S. Agency for International Development sign inter-agency agreement

Caption: The agreement was signed at a ceremony at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., and attended by Nepali Ambassador to the United States Shankar Prasad Sharma (3rd from left), Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Robert O. Blake, Jr., and returned Peace Corps volunteers from Nepal.

WASHINGTON, D.C., January 10, 2012 –Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams and U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Assistant Administrator for Asia Nisha Biswal signed an inter-agency agreement to re-establish a Peace Corps program in Nepal after a seven-year absence from the country. The agreement was signed at a ceremony at Peace Corps headquarters in Washington, D.C., and attended by Nepali Ambassador to the United States Shankar Prasad Sharma, Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs, Robert O. Blake, Jr., and returned Peace Corps volunteers from Nepal.

Magnifying glass icon"We are pleased that the government of Nepal has invited Peace Corps volunteers to return and work with local Nepali communities, in collaboration with USAID, once again," said Peace Corps Director Aaron S. Williams. "The partnership between Peace Corps and Nepal originated in 1962, during Peace Corps' early years, and it is an honor and a privilege for us to have the opportunity to renew our work with Nepal."

"USAID congratulates the Peace Corps on its return to Nepal and is excited to partner with the Peace Corp and the Government of Nepal in supporting our shared objectives of improving food security and access to healthcare for the Nepalese people. USAID and the Peace Corps just commemorated 50 years of our common legacy, as organizations established by President Kennedy to reflect the best of American Values. It is fitting that we are once again partnering in Nepal, where both agencies have a long and significant history," said USAID Assistant Administrator for Asia Nisha Biswal.

The first group of approximately 20 Peace Corps volunteers is scheduled to arrive in Nepal later this year. The volunteers, will be trained as Agriculture-Nutrition Extensionists, and will work with rural communities to build local capacity in Global Health Initiative and the Feed the Future priority areas.

Links to Related Topics (Tags):

Headlines: January, 2012; Peace Corps Nepal; Directory of Nepal RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Nepal RPCVs; Expansion

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