ADB to resume extending grant assistance to Nepal

KATHMANDU:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to resume extending grant assistance to Nepal and allocate additional funds for the country to help it achieve its development targets, Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said today.

He made the statement after returning to Kathmandu today from Kazakhstan, where he participated in ADB’s 47th annual meeting.

“During the meeting, we made it clear that Nepal has just completed its peace process and was starting to focus on economic development, so support from multilateral donor agencies like ADB was needed. We also told them Nepal still needs grant assistance from the ADB. ADB officials were positive about it,” he said.

The ADB, the second largest donor agency for Nepal, had stopped extending grant assistance to the country around a year ago. The multilateral donor agency has also been complaining about Nepal’s inability to utilise aid and had previously cautioned to slash assistance to the country if the situation does not improve.

The ADB is still interested in extending aid for the development of projects like hydropower, irrigation, road and aviation, according to the minister.

“But we have made it clear that we do not need aid just for the sake of it.

We have also made it clear that we want to focus on larger projects that can create an impact on the economy rather than disburse funds in small projects,” he added.

Source: THT