FM to address the concerns of IDPs in Washington

Kathmandu, Aug. 3: Finance Minister Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwada said on Friday that he would try to address the concerns of the international development partners (IDPs), including the World Bank, regarding the utilisation of development cooperation in the new federal setup of the country.

“I will present the government’s policy and strategy and framework for federalism implementation for obtaining maximum support and benefits from the WB,” he said at an interaction with  journalists at the Tribhuvan International Airport before leaving for Washington DC, to participate in a World Bank meeting.

He is on a 3-day visit to Washington DC to participate in the bank’s meeting to finalise the multilateral financial institution’s 5-year (2019-2023) Country Partnership Framework. He will update the WB about the government’s development priority and seek support for the implementation of large infrastructure projects.

Nepal’s development roadmap, required cooperation and potential areas for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the primary agenda for cooperation deliberation.

“We have a huge infrastructure gap in every sector from transportation to energy. We will talk about large roads, energy, irrigation and tourism projects and seek resources for their development,” said Dr Khatiwada.

According to him, Nepal will also seek grant support for fiscal reforms and technical capacity development. But the major stress will be on policy-based loan for development projects.

Finance Minister Dr. Khatiwada will hold separate meetings with the High Management Group of the WB, United States Aid for International Development (USAID), Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and International Monetary Fund (IMF).

There will be review of the cooperation extended by the development partners to Nepal in the past and discussion on additional support areas.

Similarly, the FM will participate in Nepal Day organised by the Embassy of Nepal in Washington DC, and will meet private sector investors. He is hopeful that the event will be an opportunity to update the investors about Nepal’s economic policy and investment potential and boost their confidence.

“There will be separate talks with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a private sector organ of the WB, in order to attract more investment to Nepali private sector,” he said.

Responding to the question of journalists, he said that Nepal’s inability to graduate to developing country’s status in 2018 wouldn’t have any impact on the International Development Assistance (IDA). However, if the country had graduated, bilateral donors would have channelled their support to other Least Developed Countries (LDCs) instead of Nepal.

He will be accompanied by Chief of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) Shri Krishna Nepal and Nepal’s Ambassador to the USA Dr. Arjun Karki.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 4 August 2018.