Kathmandu: On February 7, 1977, King Birendra of Nepal wrote a letter to President Carter asking the latter to recognize Nepal as a Zone of Peace—the signature campaign of the monarch which received support from over 100 countries in the world. The ZoP proposal was supported and endorsed by the US during the presidency of Ronald Reagan in 1983.
The letter by the Nepali king and Jimmy Carter’s reply to the same on ZoP is of archival value in Nepal-US relations.
In the letter the King had written the following:
Nepal is a small country situated between two of the world’s most highly populated countries. Our endeavour 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 neighbours, India and China. Our geographical location is in an area which has been the scene of armed conflict on several occasions in the last thirty 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 Peace. Any right-thinking person realises 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 activity against Nepal and on the part of Nepal not to allow its soil to be used for hostile activity 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 Nepalese 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 Nepalese people, located, as our country is between two of the world’s six countries possessing nuclear technology.
This was the response from President Carter:
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.
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