Kathmandu, July 14
Assistant Secretary of State of the United States of America
for South and Central Asian Affairs Donald Lu has expressed concerns over the
implementation and progress of the MCC Nepal Compact, a grant project of the Millennium
Challenge Corporation (MCC) of the US government.
During a meeting with Foreign Affairs Minister of Nepal, NP
Saud, at the latter's office in the Singha Durbar on Friday afternoon, Lu
discussed the implementation of the project.
Lu was in Nepal for a one-day visit as a part of his South
Asia entourage.
According to the spokesperson for the US Embassy in Nepal,
Lu discussed the progress of the MCC-Compact to date with Foreign Minister Saud.
The project will commence implementation in August and
within the next five years provide essential electrical infrastructure,
improve capacity for road maintenance, and create thousands of jobs, said
the embassy.
Nepal signed an agreement with the MCC in September 2017 for
a USD 630 million project to construct large transmission lines, including 312
km of 500 kV Butwal-Gorakhpur cross-border transmission facility and three
sub-stations, and rehabilitate strategic roads.
Likewise, the Road Maintenance Project aims to enhance
current practices in the maintenance of Nepal’s strategic road network and will
provide technical assistance to the Department of Roads (DoR) and Roads Board
Nepal.
The project must be completed within five years from the
commencement date, and if it is not completed, the remaining fund would be
routed back to the MCC. A controversy whether the pact should be ratified by
the parliament in Nepal and if it was a part of the controversial Indo-Pacific
Strategy caused the delay in the implementation of the project which was
supposed to be kicked off on 30 June 2020.
Post-graduation support
According to the secretariat of FM Saud, the two talked
about Nepal's upgrading to the 'developing nation' from the Least Developed Countries
(LDC) in 2026 and the continuation and increase of assistance from the US to
Nepal and the bilateral interests between the two countries.
Nepal's private sector is apprehensive about losing
favourable policies like the 'Generalised System of Preference (GSP)' in the
USA. Likewise, the US had allowed duty-free entry of 77 Nepali goods as trade
support in the aftermath of the 2015 earthquake. The facility will also expire
in 2025. Nepal wants it to be continued and has been lobbying with the USA for
the same.
Assistant Foreign Minister Lu pledged the continued support
of the United States to Nepal as an old development partner in fulfilling
development aspirations.
During the meeting, he praised the contribution made by the
Nepali community in America and the progress achieved in the American economy.
Meanwhile, Lu called on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’
to express his condolences on the demise of the latter's spouse Sita Dahal.
According to the US Embassy, Lu's visit was a part of his
regular diplomatic engagement in the region. "High-level diplomatic
engagements are a routine part of strengthening both US-Nepal and regional
partnerships in furtherance of a more secure, sovereign, prosperous, and
democratic world,” it said.
Meeting with Oli, Deuba
Lu also met the leader of the main opposition party, CPN
(UML), KP Sharma Oli and President of the Nepali Congress, Sher Bahadur Deuba.
Former Prime Minister Deuba said in a tweet that he had a
productive meeting with Lu. "We had constructive discussions on further
strengthening Nepal-US ties. Grateful for the US Government and Secretary Lu’s
unwavering support to promote peace, democracy and development in Nepal,"
he said.
Likewise, the Embassy spokesperson said that Lu discussed
Nepal’s achievements on its Summit for Democracy commitments, and the recent
bolstering of human rights protections in Nepal with the leaders.
During his regional tour, Assistant Secretary Lu also
visited Bangladesh and India as well. He returned to the USA on Friday evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment