The Communist Party of Nepal (Unified Marxist-Leninist), ‘CPN-UML’, places its firm commitment on pursuance of independent foreign policy in the conduct of Nepal’s international relations. Keeping at center the ‘national interest’ of the country, this Party exercises independent yet balanced foreign policy while giving due consideration to its own geostrategic location in relation to two proximate neighbors India and China. It believes that Nepal should maintain and expand friendly relations with all countries in the region and beyond.

This Party conducts its foreign relations to enhance the dignity of the nation by safeguarding sovereignty, freedom, territorial integrity, independence, and promoting economic wellbeing and prosperity of Nepal as enshrined in the Constitution of Nepal. The contribution to global peace, harmony, and security are also in priority. The Party has an unflinching belief that international relations should be based on sovereign equality and mutual respect irrespective of country’s size, population, economy or military power.

As a major mainstreaming political Party, the CPN-UML fully adheres to Nepal’s foreign policy enshrined in the Constitution while it deals with international communities. Foreign policy of Nepal is based on the Charter of the United Nations, non-alignment, principles of Panchasheel, international law, and the norms of world peace.

The CPN-UML conducts Nepal’s foreign policy guided by the spirit of ‘amity with all and enmity with none’. Peace and friendship are an integral part of Nepali people’s DNA as our culture has taught us ‘vasudhaiba kutumbakam’ meaning ‘the world is one family’. Our land is consecrated by the birth of Lord Buddha who preached peace, love, harmony and compassion. These cultural aspects of Nepali society have greatly contributed to shape our views toward peace and harmony in the world.

The Party strongly believes that foreign policy should also help in achieving economic development and prosperity of people. For this, the Party wishes to conduct Nepal’s foreign policy in such a way that it will help in forging stronger partnership with development partners, attracting FDI, and opening better international trading opportunities for the rapid economic development of the country. The CPN-UML has been and will remain striving for the realization of a dream of ‘Prosperous Nepal: Happy Nepali’.

CPN-UML strongly believes on following fundamental foreign policy principles in its international relations:

• Mutual respect for each other’s territorial integrity, sovereignty, and sovereign equality.
• Non-interference in the internal affairs of States.
• Respect for mutual equality of rights of States, including the inalienable right of each State to determine freely its political, social, economic, and cultural system.
• Respect for the political, economic, social and cultural diversity of countries and peoples.
• Non-aggression, peaceful co-existence and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
• Cooperation for mutual benefit.
• Abiding faith in the Charter of the United Nations and International Law and value of world peace.
• Respect for and promotion of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, including the effective implementation of the right of peoples to peace and development.
• Promotion of justice, equality and inclusiveness in the rules-based international order.
• Promotion of solidarity and cooperation at global level to solve global problems.

The party has a strong foundation of Marxist and Leninist philosophy. However, this Party is truly grounded on the reality of Nepali people and Nepali society by adopting the ‘People’s Multiparty Democracy’ as its political doctrine to win the hearts and minds of people of Nepal.

The CPN-UML is neither ‘pro-Chinese’ nor ‘pro-Indian’; if there is anything ‘pro’ as such; it is the only ‘Pro-Nepali’ political party. The Party is absolutely clear that Nepal has no option than to maintain the most friendly relations with its both immediate neighbors on the basis of sovereign equality and mutual respect. We fully care about the geopolitical sensitivities and security interests of both neighbors and expect the same from them toward us.

Nepal is one of the oldest nation-states not only in South Asia but also in the world. By both parameters of population and geographic size, Nepal is a medium size country in the comity of nations. The CPN-UML has a firm belief that Nepal is capable enough to conduct its independent foreign policy with sufficient maturity and credibility. It cannot think of being utilized by any foreign power to the detriment of Nepal and Nepali people. The CPN-UML has a clear-eyed approach where the national interest lies and how we could promote them to enhance the dignity and prosperity of our sovereign people.

The Party is equally aware of the fact that due to easy geographic terrain at the border area with India as well as close civilizational ties, Nepal’s engagement with India is more intense and multifaceted than with the northern neighbor China. Nevertheless, there is neither apprehension nor equivocation to stress that Nepal should have dependable, year-round multimodal access to its northern neighbor to reduce its over-dependency towards its southern neighbor. This is an undeniable basic strategy for any small country situated in a geostrategic location like Nepal. Maintaining balanced relations and establishing smooth connectivity to both sides are some of the basic elements of survival strategy of small states around the world. Nepal cannot be an exception. Our long-term strategy would be to develop Nepal as an en·tre·pôt between two giant economies of India and China having an excellent multimodal connectivity to both direction.

The CPN-UML’s central political doctrine is ‘People’s Multiparty Democracy’, which means winning the hearts and minds of people through elections and establishing the party as a vanguard of egalitarian yet prosperous society. It firmly believes in people’s power, which would be reflected through ballot. The CPN-UML believes in pluralistic democracy, free and fair elections. It respects competition among political parties and believes in ballot to serve people and the country. It fully respects the freely expressed will of people to determine their own political, economic, social, and cultural systems and their full participation in all aspects of their life. This Party, unlike orthodox communist party, fully respects the peaceful transfer of political power through periodic elections.

This Party is firmly committed to respecting, protecting, promoting, and ensuring all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all individuals and peoples. It believes in inclusive and integrated approach to democracy, development and human rights and considers that this approach perfectly synchronizes with its fundamental political doctrine ‘People’s Multiparty Democracy’.

It rejects and condemns, as always, terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever and for whatever purposes. The CPN-UML rejects unilateral coercive measures, hegemony, colonialism and neocolonialism.

The CPN-UML history is full of struggle for democracy in its long continuum of political fight against Rana autocracy, King’s autocratic Panchayat system to people’s movement against absolute monarchy. These are a few testimonies proving the CPN-UML a truly left leaning democratic political party in Nepal.