Nepal likely to get $430m from WB under new ISN
KATHMANDU, SEP 17 -
Nepal could get US$430 million in the next two years from the World Bank (WB), one of the country’s largest multilateral donors.
The WB has approved a new interim strategy note (ISN) for Nepal which is in line with the government’s three-year plan. The World Bank Group has prepared an ISN covering fiscal years 2012 and 2013 with Nepal being in transition and a new constitution being drafted with elections to follow. The World Bank’s board of directors discussed the new assistance strategy for Nepal for the next two years on Thursday in Washington.
“The interim strategy sets out some basic parameters of the World Bank Group programme but still retains the flexibility to deal with the birth of a new republic,” said the World Bank in a press statement.
The new ISN is organised around three “pillars” that emerged during consultations within the Bank Group and with the government, donor partners and key stakeholders. The first pillar intends to enhance connectivity and productivity for growth and the second focuses on reducing vulnerabilities and improving resilience. The third pillar concentrates on promoting access to better quality services. Governance, accountability, gender equality and social inclusion are themes that run across all three pillars, according to the World Bank.
Within each of these pillars, the strategy identifies specific areas where the Bank Group can make a difference. In Nepal, the World Bank Group includes the International Development Association (IDA), the concessionary lending arm, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm.
For the IDA, these include roads, food security and livelihood vulnerability, education, health, urban services and disaster management. For the IFC, these include improving access to finance and investment climate, trade facilitation, lending to small and medium enterprises and trade finance facilities for local banks. The IDA and IFC expect to work together on power development, agriculture and climate change.
“The IDA’s assistance programme will help improve food security, reduce malnutrition, especially among pregnant women, improve the immunization coverage of children and enhance the access to and the quality of education” said Ellen Goldstein, World Bank country director for Nepal and Bangladesh. “It will also assist in removing key bottlenecks to higher economic growth and more jobs through investments in roads and bridges and the energy sector,” she added.
“The IFC’s programme, which is complementary and closely coordinated, aims to create a positive impact on private sector growth and poverty reduction through investments in infrastructure, projects that promote inclusive and clean growth, and advisory interventions that enhance trade and support building a better business environment for the private sector,” said Thomas Davenport, IFC director for South Asia.
Over the next two years, Nepal can get about US$ 400 million from the IDA, subject to performance and economic management, said the press statement. These funds could finance four to five new operations per year. Similarly, the IFC can potentially commit US$ 25-30 million on average annually, depending on the availability of viable investments and improvements in the business climate.
Source: Kantipur
Nepal could get US$430 million in the next two years from the World Bank (WB), one of the country’s largest multilateral donors.
The WB has approved a new interim strategy note (ISN) for Nepal which is in line with the government’s three-year plan. The World Bank Group has prepared an ISN covering fiscal years 2012 and 2013 with Nepal being in transition and a new constitution being drafted with elections to follow. The World Bank’s board of directors discussed the new assistance strategy for Nepal for the next two years on Thursday in Washington.
“The interim strategy sets out some basic parameters of the World Bank Group programme but still retains the flexibility to deal with the birth of a new republic,” said the World Bank in a press statement.
The new ISN is organised around three “pillars” that emerged during consultations within the Bank Group and with the government, donor partners and key stakeholders. The first pillar intends to enhance connectivity and productivity for growth and the second focuses on reducing vulnerabilities and improving resilience. The third pillar concentrates on promoting access to better quality services. Governance, accountability, gender equality and social inclusion are themes that run across all three pillars, according to the World Bank.
Within each of these pillars, the strategy identifies specific areas where the Bank Group can make a difference. In Nepal, the World Bank Group includes the International Development Association (IDA), the concessionary lending arm, and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the private sector arm.
For the IDA, these include roads, food security and livelihood vulnerability, education, health, urban services and disaster management. For the IFC, these include improving access to finance and investment climate, trade facilitation, lending to small and medium enterprises and trade finance facilities for local banks. The IDA and IFC expect to work together on power development, agriculture and climate change.
“The IDA’s assistance programme will help improve food security, reduce malnutrition, especially among pregnant women, improve the immunization coverage of children and enhance the access to and the quality of education” said Ellen Goldstein, World Bank country director for Nepal and Bangladesh. “It will also assist in removing key bottlenecks to higher economic growth and more jobs through investments in roads and bridges and the energy sector,” she added.
“The IFC’s programme, which is complementary and closely coordinated, aims to create a positive impact on private sector growth and poverty reduction through investments in infrastructure, projects that promote inclusive and clean growth, and advisory interventions that enhance trade and support building a better business environment for the private sector,” said Thomas Davenport, IFC director for South Asia.
Over the next two years, Nepal can get about US$ 400 million from the IDA, subject to performance and economic management, said the press statement. These funds could finance four to five new operations per year. Similarly, the IFC can potentially commit US$ 25-30 million on average annually, depending on the availability of viable investments and improvements in the business climate.
Source: Kantipur
