Minister Janardan Sharma calls for more support for COVID-19 control

Minister for Finance Janardan Sharma has appealed with the World Bank to consider providing more support to Nepal in its fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.

At a meeting with a delegation from the World Bank in the Ministry of Finance at Singha Durbar in Kathmandu on Monday, Minister Sharma extended gratitude to the World Bank for its current support and said that Nepal needed more such support in its fight against the pandemic.

As the incumbent government was actively working towards reviving the economy and vaccinating all its citizens against COVID-19, the Minister asserted that Nepal needed more support and cooperation from the World Bank towards this.

Minister Sharma also expressed his confidence in the continued support from the World Bank to Nepal in the government’s priorities to end poverty through quality affordable education, affordable healthcare services, and road connectivity.

On the occasion, World Bank’s executive director Mohd Hassan Ahmad pledged to help Nepal secure more support. He also urged Nepal for its active participation in the upcoming joint annual conference to be organized by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.

Likewise, World Bank’s South Asian Region vice-president Hartwig Schafer appealed with Minister Sharma to facilitate the prompt implementation of the World Bank-funded projects in Nepal.

Stating that Nepal needed reforms at a policy level, Schafer also reaffirmed World Bank’s commitment to continue with cooperation with Nepal.

The World Bank’s delegation also held a separate meeting with Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini and discussed areas of cooperation at length.