US Ambassador Peter W. Bodde on Friday announced two Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) awards totaling USD 320,000 to support structural assessments, stabilization, and restoration of historic sites in Lalitpur and Kathmandu that were damaged by the April 25 earthquake. 

 During a special ceremony organised on Friday, Ambassador Bodde awarded the grants to Kathmandu Valley Preservation Trust (KVPT) to help restore sites in Patan and Kathmandu Durbar Square. Both these sites were previously funded by AFCP and the additional grants announced on Friday are important in the recovery of Nepal's treasured cultural heritage sites.

“For more than two decades, the U.S. embassy has supported efforts to mitigate the impact of natural disasters in Nepal,” said Ambassador Bodde at the event. “Restoration initiatives in Kathmandu Durbar Square, and Patan Durbar Square, will help preserve some of the world’s most significant intact historic urban sites.”

The statement shared by U.S. embassy in Nepal quoted Martin Perschler, the Program Director of the U.S. State Department’s AFCP saying, “The proper restoration, and in some cases, reconstruction of Nepal's ancient and historic sites will take time.  We recognise that fact and continue to respect and support Nepal's cultural heritage recovery priorities and goals,”.

The AFCP was established by the U.S. Department of State to support the preservation of ancient and historic sites, museum collections, and forms of traditional cultural expression in more than 120 countries. In Nepal, since 2003, AFCP has invested over USD 2.2 million in the preservation of Nepal's cultural heritage, with fifteen projects already completed.