EU pledges post-disaster support to Nepal

Kathmandu, Sept. 3

The European Union said that it was prepared to support Nepal in post-disaster relief.

European Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management Hadja Lahbib said to Nepal's Ambassador to the BENELUX countries and Head of Mission to the EU, Sewa Lamsal that the EU was prepared to provide support to the Government of Nepal within its capacity.

"The Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO) was aware of Nepal's requests for essential items and was seeking support from EU member states," she said in a meeting with Lamsal on Wednesday.

Nepal has urged the European Union (EU) to support its ongoing response to the Bhotekoshi flash flood.

In the meeting with Lahbib, Lamsal conveyed the urgent need for essential supplies to support these efforts.

According to the Embassy of Nepal in Brussels, Ambassador Lamsal briefed Commissioner Lahbib on the catastrophic flash flood that struck the Bhotekoshi River along the Nepal–China border on August 26.

 She provided an update on the situation, outlined the government's ongoing search, rescue, and relief operations.

Lamsal said the government would prepare a Post-Disaster Needs Assessment Report and share its reconstruction and recovery requirements with development partners, including the EU.

Likewise, earlier on Tuesday, Lamsal met Dominic Porter, Deputy Managing Director for Asia Pacific at the European External Action Service (EEAS). They discussed the Bhotekoshi flood and potential EU cooperation in the government's ongoing rescue operations.

Similarly, on Wednesday, she met Nona Deprez, the new Head of the Asia-Pacific Division at the EEAS, and discussed areas of common interest, including EU assistance following the Bhotekoshi flood.

Lamsal also thanked Deprez's predecessor, Charels Whiteley, Ambassador-designate of the EU to Nepal, for his cooperation and discussed further engagement to strengthen the Nepal-EU partnership.

Published in The Rising Nepal on 4 September 2026.