Nepal Reverses Decision to Reject Foreign Aid

The Nepalese government has reversed its previous decision to reject aid from other countries in rescue operations following the devastating floods that killed hundreds of people, amid “pressure” from other nations.

This was reported by the Kathmandu Post newspaper, citing a senior government official.

Previously, on Friday (28/8/2026), the spokesperson for Nepal’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lok Bahadur Chhetri, said that Nepal did not require foreign assistance for search and rescue operations following the flash flood disaster.

“We received significant pressure from the international community to allow at least search and rescue teams and a number of experts, because their citizens are also missing due to the floods. We are allowing a limited number of experts in certain areas,” the official said, as quoted by the newspaper on Friday.

Nepal’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Shisir Khanal, told the newspaper that foreign experts would assist local rescue teams in identifying bodies so that authorities could return them to their families promptly.

Previously, the United Nations, the European Union, and several countries had provided financial assistance to Nepal amid the damage caused by the major floods.

Extremely strong water currents surged into the Bhote Koshi River in Nepal’s mountainous region on Wednesday (26/8/2026). The cause of the major flood was initially reported to be the result of an earthquake and subsequent landslides.

However, on Thursday (27/8/2026), the United States Geological Survey (USGS) stated that the seismic activity was caused by a glacier collapse, not by underground tremors.

Based on the latest data, the death toll from the floods in Nepal has reached 626 people.