AMBASSADOR THANKS MINISTER FOR DISTRIBUTING ‘ON DEMOCRACY’

June 26, 2006

In support of the new Nepal Government, today Ambassador James F. Moriarty thanked Minister for Local Development Rajendra Prasad Pandey for working with the Embassy to send 5,500 copies of the book “On Democracy” to all village and district development committees in Nepal. Ambassador Moriarty visited the Minister at his office in Pulchowk this afternoon to officially hand over the books.

“On Democracy,” by Robert Dahl, is often used in the United States as a textbook and resource for students of political science. The U.S. Embassy’s American Center Library translated the book into Nepali last year. The volume proved so popular that the Embassy printed 20,000 more copies and has worked with the Ministry since April to send them out across the country to all local government offices.

“Such partnership is a good example of our support to the Nepal Government,” said American Center Library Deputy Director Laura Lucas at the event. “The government is working hard to put the nation on a path to democracy, peace, and prosperity, and information about democracy itself is critical to fulfilling those goals.”

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