An alliance between Federal Express and Everest de Cargo last week heralded the launch of an outbound service for documents and packages from Nepal to the world. The company announced "significant improvements" in its inbound services into Nepal. Hamdi Osmani, Fedex's regional vice president for the subcontinent and the Middle East said: "Our aim is to get even closer to the customers who require high-quality, international express transportation services."

Fedex is eyeing Nepal's carpets, garments and handicraft exports as well as the business of commercial outfits and development projects. Everest de Cargo was formed in 1984 and is now a leading market player in Nepal and is a member of the Everest group of companies.