USTDA Partners with Nepal on Quality Infrastructure Procurement

Arlington, VA - The U.S. Trade and Development Agency is hosting a delegation of Nepali public procurement officials through August 30 as part of an ongoing partnership to support Nepal's development of high-quality, resilient infrastructure. The study tour is the latest component of Nepal's comprehensive procurement assistance program under USTDA's Global Procurement Initiative (GPI). The study tour will focus on international best practices for obtaining the best value in government procurement.

While in the United States, the 16-member delegation will travel to Washington, DC; Richmond, VA; Baltimore and Boston for meetings with federal, state and local government procurement counterparts, multilateral organizations, U.S. private sector organizations, and academia. USTDA will also host trainings tailored to Nepal's self-identified needs.

The study tour follows a GPI sponsored three-day workshop held in Kathmandu in April 2024 that trained more than 60 Nepali procurement officials from 11 ministries on sustainable procurement, developing technical specifications and establishing value-based evaluation criteria, and how to conduct life-cycle cost analysis.

Launched in 2013, USTDA's GPI trains public officials in emerging economies on how to establish procurement practices and policies that integrate life-cycle cost analysis and best value determination in a fair and transparent manner. GPI helps partner countries acquire high-quality, long-lasting technologies, while building smart, sustainable infrastructure with overall savings to their government. These procurement methods also open markets to greater international competition. GPI leverages the expertise of its institutional partners and collaborators, which include universities, multilateral development banks and government entities.

The study tour supports U.S. government priorities including the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment.

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The U.S. Trade and Development Agency helps companies create U.S. jobs through the export of U.S. goods and services for priority infrastructure projects in emerging economies. USTDA links U.S. businesses to export opportunities by funding project preparation and partnership building activities that develop sustainable infrastructure and foster economic growth in partner countries.

MEDIA INQUIRIES: Paul Marin | [email protected]