Dean Richard Thompson recently completed his two years as the American ambassador to Nepal. Arriving here just before the 2022 elections, he has since closely observed Nepali politics and society. Umesh Chauhan and Biswas Baral recently sat down with Thompson to reflect on his time in Nepal, major US projects in the country including those under the MCC, geopolitical competition with China, trade, and a range of other issues.
How have you seen Nepali politics evolve in the two years you have been in the country? What events stood out?
I’ve seen a lot of Nepali politics. Obviously, there’s been a lot of changes. I got here right before the national elections in November 2022. It was really great to see the democratic process play out here, to see Nepalis turn out in such great numbers and make their choices known.
Democracy is such a vibrant and colourful exercise anywhere in the world. Nepal did not disappoint on that front. It’s been fascinating to watch it evolve, to watch the governments come in different formations.
What’s been great is the commitment we’ve seen from successive groups in government to moving forward and carrying forward the [bilateral] partnership and building on projects. I’ve also been amazed at some of the innovative things happening in various sectors of the economy.
There has been some very exciting work in the IT sector, for example, that runs the gamut from more traditional back-office type operations to cutting-edge AI research, to developing educational apps for school students, to things like what we have been sponsoring at our Content Creator’s Mela these past two years. It is great to see Nepalis show lots of creativity in expressing themselves and talking about their culture and their society in so many different ways. Across the board, I’d say the experience has been unique.
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