Nepal and China agree on cooperaion in roads, railways and tunnels

Kathmandu, Oct. 13

Nepal and China have agreed to intensify cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to enhance connectivity by developing ports, roads, railways, aviation and communication.

They have agreed to expedite the implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation under the BRI to enhance connectivity within the framework of trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Network.

A joint statement issued by the two neighbours on Sunday at the conclusion of the two-day state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping to Nepal maintains that the implementation of connectivity infrastructure will contribute to Nepal’s aim to graduate from the status of the Least Developed Country (LDC) at an early date and become a middle income country by 2030.

Nepal plans to graduate to a developing nation from its current LDC status by 2022.

President Xi and Prime Minster KP Sharma Oli observed the agreements signing on Sunday morning following their bilateral meeting.

The visit of the Chinese Head of the State after a gap of 23 years brought joy to the government and people of Nepal as the two nations agreed to conduct the feasibility study of the Keyrung-Kathmandu Railway project which will be the first cross-border railway in the north. 

China has also assured that it would extend support to the proposed Kathmandu-Pokhara-Lumbini railway project.

Nepal and China had signed an MoU in June 2018 on Cooperation in Railway Project.

Cross-border connectivity

The northern neighbour has agreed to open the Lizi-Nechung port across the Korala border at the earliest date and build necessary infrastructure on Nepal’s side of the border.

Currently Zhangmu/Khasa port across Tatopani is operating freight functions while Jilong Keyrung port on the other side of Rasuwagadhi will come into operation shortly.

China has supported Nepal in the construction of Larcha Dry Port at Tatopani border and is constructing Timure Dry Port at Rasuwagadhi border point which has witnessed the increased trade activities following the devastation of the former in the 2015 earthquake.

Tunnel along the Keyrung-Kathmandu road is also included in the joint statement. Currently, China and Nepal have agreed to conduct feasibility study of the project.

 In an effort to facilitate cross-border movement of goods and people the northern neighbour is also helping Nepal in developing the Syaphrubensi-Rasuwagadhi road as a two-lane highway.

In another effort to create long-term connectivity infrastructure, China has agreed to upgrade and reconstruct the Araniko Highway connecting Kathmandu to Tatopani-Khasa.

Similarly, China will be supporting Nepal in developing three north-south corridors – Koshi, Gandaki and Karnali Economic Corridors. “It will create jobs and improve livelihood of locals and stimulate economic growth and development,” read the joint statement. 

The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in various fields of economy, including trade, tourism, investment, capacity of production and improving people's livelihood so as to promote mutual development.

President Xi’s visit has also facilitated Nepal to have greater direct air services to China as the two countries have welcomed the consensus between their civil aviation authorities on expanding the air rights arrangement to operate more direct air services.  

Nepal will also get assistance for training its technical human resources in railway, road and tunnel engineering, inland waterways and shipping.

Expanding export to China

China has assured that it would take positive measures to expand Nepal’s export to China.

It has agreed to consider providing technical support for the establishment of multifunctional laboratory in Nepal and extend cooperation to make Tatopani Frontier Inspection Station at Larcha fully functional.

At the same time, Nepal will facilitate the Chinese banks to open their branches and other financial services in Nepal to facilitate trade and investment between the two countries. Nepali private sector has long been demanding the operationalisation of the Chinese banks in Nepal in order to make the trade and economic activities between the two countries formal.

According to the Ministry of Finance, the government is trying to bring a Chinese bank in joint-venture with a Nepali bank, but the former is interested to open its branch instead of a JV. 

Likewise, the two neighbours have agreed to establish working groups on investment cooperation and trade under the framework of Nepal-China Joint Commission on Economy and Trade, to facilitate the respective activities. 

The two countries will sign an MoU on cooperation on Import and Export of Food Safety in near future. They signed a protocol on phyto-sanitary requirements for the Export of Citrus Fruits from Nepal to China. 

According to the joint statement, energy exchange between the two countries is likely to happen soon as they agreed to carry out Nepal-China Electric Power Cooperation Plan and complete it within one year. 

They also agreed to take this plan as an important reference for the next step of bilateral electric power cooperation and promote its implementation. There will be greater exchanges and cooperation in hydropower, wind power, solar power, biomas energy and other kinds of new energies and grid systems. 

Tapping on the aspiration of Nepal, the world’s second largest economy has assured its support in establishing a multidisciplinary Madan Bhandari University for Science and Technology and promised to start work immediately after the government chooses a suitable site for the institution. 

The two neighbours also signed an agreement for Boundary Management system to enhance and improve the level of cooperation in the area. They said that a joint scientific research would be conducted to measure the height of Sagarmatha (Zhumulangma). 

China has also promised its support to promote Visit Nepal Year 2020 in China through various activities and said that it would welcome Nepal to participate in the travel marts being organised in China.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 October 2019. 

Visit successful, say President Bhandari and PM Oli

Kathmandu, Oct. 13

President Bidya Devi Bhandari has said that the visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping had ushered in the historical and strong relations between Nepal and China to a new era. In her tweet on Sunday, she also expressed gratitude to her Chinese counterpart for his goodwill and support to Nepal and its people.

Likewise, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has termed the visit ‘a huge success’. “The two-day visit of the Chinese president has concluded with a grand success and the relations between the two countries have achieved new height and dynamism,” he said in a tweet on Sunday.

In another tweet, he expressed gratitude for Xi’s goodwill and good wishes. He also thanked Nepali people for their support to make the visit a success in an unprecedented way.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 October 2019. 

President Xi returns

Kathmandu, Oct. 13

President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping returned to Beijing on Sunday after concluding his two-day state visit to Nepal. 


President Bidya Devi Bhandari, with Prime Minister Oli and other dignitaries, bid farewell to the Chinese President at the Tribhuvan International Airport. 


A large number of people appeared on the road to bid farewell to the high level Chinese guest. 


President Xi held a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli in the morning and deliberated on bilateral relationship and regional and international issues of common concern. They observed the signing of various 20 Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs), agreements and letter of exchanges and a 20-point joint statement was issued afterwards.


Chairman of Nepal Communist Party (NCP) and former Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda called on the visiting Chinese President at Soaltee Hotel where they hold about half an hour-long meeting. 


Prachanda said that Nepal felt proud for having a neighbour like China and expressed commitment to exchange experiences and take the bilateral relations to the newer heights. 


Prachanda said that the bilateral relationship between Nepal and China witnessed an advent of new era following the signing of Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). He maintained that both the countries must set deadline to select and execute projects so that the people of both nations could benefit by them. 


In response, President Xi stressed on developing common programme in order to exchange experiences of both the parties. He reiterated his commitment to support Nepal in achieving the national aspiration of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’. 


President Xi emphasised on economic development and said, “A political party and government can win the hearts of people only through the economic development in the country.” He also told Prachanda that for a communist party, its principles are of prime importance. 


President Xi also held a meeting with the secretariat leaders of the ruling Nepal Communist Party on Sunday. 


Earlier, Xi held meeting with Sher Bahadur Deuba, president of the main opposition party Nepali Congress on Saturday evening where the two leaders talked about economic and political exchanges and bilateral support in national and international issues. 


The two head of the states - Xi and Bhandari, in a meeting held the other day, agreed to develop friendship and partnership that would help in development and prosperity for many generations to come. 


President Xi maintained that China would expedite the development of Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity Infrastructure, and said that the northern neighbour wanted to support Nepal in realising its dream to become a land-linked country from the landlocked country.

Agreements and MoUs signed during Xi’s visit

1.      Agreement on Boundary Management System

2.      Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters

3.      MoU on Exchanges and Cooperation on Governance Capacity Building

4.      MoU on Sagarmatha Protection Cooperation

5.      MoU on Promoting Key Projects of Investment and Cooperation on Productive Capacity

6.      Exchange of Note for Setting up a Consulate General of Nepal in Chengdu

7.      MoU on Feasibility Study of China-Nepal Cross-Border Railway Project

8.      Agreement on the Establishment of Sister-City Relationship between Kathmandu and Nanjing

9.      Agreement on Sister-City Relationship between Butwal and Xi’an

10.  MoU on Cooperation on Traditional Medicine

11.  MoU on Cooperation in Disaster Risk Reduction and Emergency Response

12.  MoU on Cooperation between Chinese Supreme People’s Procurator and Nepal’s Office of the Attorney General

13.  Agreement on the Establishment of Confucius Institute at the Tribhuvan University

14.  Protocol of Phytosanitary Requirements for the Export of Citrus Fruits from Nepal to China

15.  MoU on the Establishment of Joint Working Group on Trade.

16.  Certificate for China Aid Earthquake Monitoring Network Project in Nepal

17.  MoU on the Establishment of Investment Cooperation Working Group

18.  MoU on Tunnels Construction Cooperation

19.  Exchange of Letter for Border Security Equipment and Office Equipment

20.  Minutes of Meeting for Feasibility Investigation of China Aid Municipal Water Supply Improvement Project in Kathmandu

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 14 October 2019. 

Employ politics to boost development

Modnath Dhakal

Some years ago, when the country was undergoing an acute shortage of energy with a16- hour-long power outage a day, the Federation of Nepali Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FNCCI) convened a meeting of the top political leaders of major parties that made their commitment not to disturb the construction of any hydroelectricity projects and support in creating investment-friendly environment.

Speaking at the Nepal Investment Summit 2019 in March this year, Vice-President and chief Executive Officer of the World Banks' Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Keiko Honda termed Nepal 'a rising star in South Asia' in terms of investment-friendliness. He appreciated Nepal's efforts to improve its investment climate and become a competitive investment destination. WB's Vice President for South Asia Hartwig Schafer assured every financial and technical support to Nepal.

In the immediate aftermath of the devastating Gorkha Earthquake 2015, Nepal organised two investment summits, two infrastructure summits and multiple sectoral investment and promotion summit. Development experts as well as political leaders of neighbouring countries and other developed and developing countries offered their learning and technical expertise to Nepal and urged the international investors to invest here.

And the development and investment rhetoric has been changed lately.

Concrete actions

Instead of tall talks and abstract call to the business community and investors to come to Nepal and make investment, the ministers and leaders have started to talk about the concrete actions the government had taken in terms of policy reforms, process simplification and project feasibility as Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Yogesh Bhattarai, while speaking at the Infrastructure Summit last month, presented the priority areas of the government in terms of aviation infrastructure and also said that his ministry was in discussion with the European Union to lift the ban on Nepali airlines to fly in the European skies.

The long-running trend of vandalising foreign investment projects and companies, extortion and donation seeking has drastically gone down to almost zero save the Biplav-led Maoist outfit. The government has also decided to provide security services to each industry or project when required.

Similarly, the government recently launched a wave of multi-sectoral reforms to attract both the domestic as well as foreign investment. It enacted Public Private Partnership Act, Foreign Investment and Technology Transfer Act, Labour Act, Special Economic Zone Act to create more conducive environment for business and environment.

However, the efforts seem inadequate and unenthusiastic since the country has largely failed to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI). According to the report of Nepal Rastra Bank, the FDI inflows in Nepal are substantially low compared to neighbouring countries. It shares only 0.01 per cent of total FDI in the world while the South Asia received 3.1 per cent of total FDI inflow in 2016. 

Investors are hesitating to come to Nepal due to cumbersome business registration process, difficulties in obtaining visa and work permit and complex repatriation system. According to some foreign missions in Kathmandu, Nepal's cap on FDI has also impacted negatively.

The greatest challenge, however, is that the industrialists are not proactive. Just making a call to Nepali and foreign investors to invest in Nepal is meaningless and will have little impact if they are not impressed by the local policies. 

The government's job is not just to urge the investors to invest their capital but to create a situation whereby investors would come here automatically. Did the government urge any investors to invest in health sector and establish modern hospitals? Did it suggest the businessmen to establish profitable schools in the cities? Did it ask the investors to invest in cement? 

The answer is no. What happened in these sectors was that the government implemented liberal policies and created favourable environment in these sectors which attracted the investors. Take an example of cement industry. 

The cement import has been reduced to 80,000 tonnes per year from 800,000 tonnes some years ago. There are 61 cement industries – 40 grinding plants and 21 integrated plants – with 15 million tonnes of installed capacity. The Cement Manufacturers Association had projected that by mid-July 2021, cement demand would reach 12.2 million tonnes per annum while the installed capacity would be approximately double the size.

Spontaneous impact 

It all happened without government making a call to the investors while the largest cement industry, Hongshi, established a couple of years ago, has forced the market to reduce the price as well. The progress was the result of the government policy to invest in the study of limestone mines across the country, develop access roads up to the site with its own budget and easy process to acquire license for mine. 

Similarly, the tax concession and promotion of private institutions in the education sector had inspired thousands of private institutions across the country which are not only delivering good education and creating competitive human resources but also create employments in a large number.

Unless the political parties do politics for development and leaders take the economic agenda seriously, there are less chances of the flow of large number of investors in Nepal. Less investment means less job creation, more trade deficit, pressure on the balance of payment, triggering high frustration among the people.

(Dhakal is a journalist at The Rising Nepal)

Published in The Rising Nepal in October 2019. 

Grand Reception for President Xi

Bhandari for Lumbini-Keyrung rail, Xi Assures land-linked Nepal

Kathmandu, Oct. 12

President of the People’s Republic of China Xi Jinping, who arrived in Kathmandu on Saturday evening on a two-day State visit, said Nepal and China had nothing but friendship. 


“We have model friendship in the world, and there is no issue between the two countries but friendship,” he said while speaking at the State Banquet organised by President Bidya Devi Bhandari in his honour at Soaltee Hotel. 


President Xi said that he and his Nepali counterpart Bhandari had agreed to develop a relations, friendship and partnership that would help in development and prosperity for many generations to come. 


He assured that more reliable and easier connectivity facility between the two countries would be constructed in the near future. 


Maintaining that China would expedite the development of Trans-Himalayan Multi-Dimensional Connectivity infrastructure, he said, “We want to support Nepal in realising its dream to become a land-linked country from the landlocked country.”


He announced that China will provide support in conducting the feasibility study of Keyrung-Kathmandu railway, upgrading the Arniko Highway and constructing Keyrung-Kathmandu tunnel way. 


President Xi expressed his commitment to further support in the post-quake reconstruction, promoting Visit Nepal Year 2020, support education sector and urban development in the country. 


He is happy that the leadership of both the countries together made it possible to develop and implement a new framework of friendship and plans. 


“I am hopeful that there will be more cooperation between Nepal and China at multilateral platforms,” he said. 


According to Xi, Buddhism has become a local religion in China, and many Chinese want to visit Nepal and Lumbini, and in future there will be more religious exchanges. 


He also said that China was ever ready to conserve Sagarmatha region and support Nepal’s genuine demands regarding the issue of climate change.





President Bhandari, in her welcome remarks, appreciated China for its support in Nepal’s development efforts and cooperation at the international platforms. 


“Nepal and China have been standing together and extending cooperation in multilateral platform for peace, stability and development,” she said.  


Geographically Nepal and China are close friends while history and culture have helped in developing cordial relations, she said.


 “At this juncture, Nepal wants to express its commitment to taking the bilateral relations to a newer height.” 


She reiterated Nepal’s commitment to ‘One China Policy’ and not allowing any force to use Nepali land against China. 


President Bhandari said that the land of Lord Buddha expected Chinese support in developing Lumbini as a centre of world peace, and infrastructure improvement for cross-border connectivity. 


“Nepali people want to see Rasuwagadhi-Kathmandu-Lumbini railway connectivity being happened,” she said. 


According to her, since Nepal’s internal resources are not sufficient to meet the ambition to become a middle-income country by 2030, it needs more foreign investment. The country wants Chinese investment in the productive sectors like infrastructure, energy and tourism, she said. 


“The government will assure security to the investment made in Nepal,” President Bhandari said. 


She also said that Nepal expected support of the Chinese government in Visit Nepal Year 2020, conserving mountain ecology and combating the impact of climate change. 


She informed President Xi that the government was holding an international forum ‘Sagarmatha Sambad’ and said Nepal expected high-level participation from China. 


Nepal is organising ‘Sagarmatha Sambad’ – an international dialogue, in March 2020, and the main agenda of the first summit would be climate change. 


As the global warming has created alarming situation in the mountains and plains equally, and the country wants to draw the attention to the climate change impacts on Himalayas, environment and people, the first Sambad will be focused on the same theme.



President Bidya Devi Bhandari on Saturday welcomed her Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping upon his arrival at the Tribhuvan International Airport. 


Vice-President Nanda Bahadur Pun, Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, Chairman of the National Assembly Ganesh Prasad Timilsina, Deputy Prime Ministers,  Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, ministers, head of the constitutional bodies and other high-level government officials accompanied President Bhandari to welcome Chinese President Xi at the Tribhuvan International Airport. 


President Bhandari had also introduced the DPMs and ministers to her Chinese counterpart.

Later in the evening, the two presidents held a bilateral meeting at Sheetal Niwas and deliberated on the issues of bilateral concerns and Nepal-China relations. 


During the bilateral meeting, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence, Home Minister, Foreign Affairs Minister, Women, Children and Senior Citizens Minister, Minister for water Supply and high level officials of Nepal and Chinese governments were present.

Leader of the main opposition party Nepali Congress Sher Bahadur Deuba met President Xi at Soaltee Hotel. 


President Bhandari organised a state banquet in Xi’s honour where he and Chinese delegation were served with typical Nepali delicacies.  


The Air China plane carrying him from Chennai, India, landed at the TIA at about 16:45 in the afternoon. 


A battalion of Nepal Army presented a guard of honour to the visiting guest, and various cultural shows, including exhibits from all seven States provinces, were presented at the airport and along the route to Soaltee Hotel. Thousands people stood by the road and waved the national flags of Nepal and China to welcome the Chinese President. 


The visit by a Chinese president is taking place in an interval of 23 years. Earlier,  Jiang Zemin had visited Nepal in 1996. Nepal long wanted to have top level Chinese visit, especially in an effort to diversify its sickening international trade and obtain the latter’s expertise and economic support in infrastructure, primarily connectivity and energy. 


The country wants cross-border road and railway connectivity with China, more Chinese investment and tourists to make the Visit Nepal Year 2020 a success in the short term and to achieve the national aspiration of ‘Prosperous Nepal, happy Nepali’.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 13 October 2019. 

President Xi arriving today, Connectivity top agenda for agreement

Kathmandu, Oct. 11

Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet his Nepali counterpart Bidya Devi Bhandari following his arrival in Kathmandu in the afternoon on Saturday.

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Xi will arrive at the Tribhuvan International Airport at 4:30 PM for a 2-day official visit. The only international airport has decided to hold all commercial flights for two and half hours during Xi’s arrival.

Xi will have three formal programmes on Saturday. He will hold a bilateral meeting with President Bidya Devi Bhandari in the evening when the two heads of states will discuss issues of mutual interest. He will meet Chairman of Nepali Congress and leader of the main opposition Sher Bahadur Deuba, and will participate in dinner.

President Xi will hold a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli on Sunday morning when signing of the bilateral agreements will take place. The visiting President will meet Chairman of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’. He is scheduled to return to Beijing in the afternoon the same day.

Nepal has completed preparations to welcome President Xi, who is the first Chinese president visiting Nepal in the last 23 years. Exchanges of high-level visits between the two countries have taken place in between, including the visit by erstwhile Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao in January 2012.

Vice-Premier of the State Council of China Wang Yang visited Nepal in August 2017 during which the two neighbours signed an agreement on economic and technical cooperation, framework agreement on promotion of investment and economic cooperation, and letters of exchange for oil and gas resources exploration in Nepal.

Minister for Communication and Information Technology Gokul Prasad Baskota said that connectivity would be the main agenda during the bilateral meeting of President Xi and PM Oli.

Up on agenda for this visit of the Chinese president are Keyrung-Kathmandu Railway, Kimathanka-Leguwa, Korala-Palpa and Hilsa-Surkhet road connectivity with border development, Chhahara-Tokha tunnel way, upgrading of Arniko highway, hydroelectricity development, cross-border fibre optics connectivity and establishment of Madan Bhandari Science and Technology University.

Upper Trishuli Hydropower, Kathmandu Ring Road Improvement, Larcha and Timure Frontier Inspection Station, Pokhara International Airport, upgrade of Syaphrubensi-Rasuwagadhi Road, Kodari Highway and Civil Service Hospital, and restoration of bordering bridges at Kodari and Rasuwagadhi are major on-going Chinese projects in Nepal.

Nepal wants support from the competitive Chinese technical and technological expertise in infrastructure development, including roads, railways, tunnels and hydroelectricity projects.

Likewise, the northern neighbour is the second largest trading partner and second largest source country for tourists of Nepal with Rs. 207 billion bilateral trade in 2018/19 and 153,633 Chinese tourists.

Nepal wants China to allow more Nepali products that have competitive and comparative advantage in the Chinese markets and support in sending more tourists to make the Visit Nepal 2020 a success.

To discuss the entire realm of bilateral relations, the two countries have established Nepal-China Joint Consultation Mechanism led by foreign secretary of Nepal and vice-minister of the foreign ministry of China. 

Other bilateral instruments are Nepal-China Inter-Governmental Economic and Trade Committee, Nepal-China Joint Committee on Agriculture Cooperation, Border Law Enforcement Cooperation, Boarder Customs Meeting, Joint Tourism Coordination Committee, Nepal-China’s Tibet Trade Facilitation Committee, Energy Cooperation Mechanism, and Mechanism for Facilitation on the Implementation of China-Nepal Cooperation Programmes and Projects in Nepal.

President Xi has shown a great interest in Nepal’s nature and culture and promised support in making the Visit Nepal Year 2020 a success by encouraging more Chinese tourists to visit Nepal. In an article published in this daily Friday, he also indicated towards the development of trans-Himalayan connectivity network.

“Nepal has been an active participant in the Belt and Road cooperation, and is working with China on a number of infrastructure projects to build or upgrade highways, ports, airports and power plants,” he said. “A trans-Himalayan connectivity network is thus taking shape, which will serve not just our two countries but also the region as a whole.”

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 12 October 2019. 

ADB releases new 5-year CPS for Nepal, aims to lend upto $600m in next 3 years

Kathmandu, Oct. 11

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has released a new 5-year Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Nepal with commitment to help the country achieve its goal for a stronger and more inclusive economy.

The Nepal CPS for 2020–2024, endorsed by ADB’s Board of Directors on Friday, will focus on three priority areas: improved infrastructure for private sector-led growth, improved access to devolved services, and environmental sustainability and resilience.

Under the new strategy, ADB expects to lend an estimated $500 million to $600 million on average during 2020–2022.

“With the political stability and the federal system of governance in place, Nepal is poised to bring about the desired economic and social transformation,” said ADB Country Director for Nepal Mr. Mukhtor Khamudkhanov.

According to him, the new CPS is aligned with the government’s plan of achieving higher economic growth, reducing poverty, and improving people’s lives.

“Nepal has seen reduced poverty and raised literacy levels in the last decade. Now, moving forward, smooth implementation of federalism, investments in critical physical infrastructure, and creating an environment for private sector investments are critical to further boost growth and reduce poverty,” said Khamudkhanov.

Under the new CPS, ADB will support hydropower development and renewable energy, roads and air transport, logistics, and trade facilitation to strengthen domestic, regional, and international connectivity; reduce the costs of production and trade for businesses; and attract private investment.

The CPS will help support development of cities and urban municipalities, quality education and employment-oriented skills development, and increased agriculture productivity and commercialization to augment rural incomes. These will be targeted to benefit women and disadvantaged social groups, said the multilateral donor.

In all its development programs and projects, ADB will continue to prioritize gender equality and social inclusion, as well as disaster resilience and environmental sustainability.

“ADB will assist with policy reforms for devolved service delivery, including subnational public financial management; and sector reforms in agriculture, air transport, and water supply. Knowledge and development of institutional capacity, especially at subnational levels, will be emphasized,” said the bank.

Published in The Rising Nepal daily on 12 October 2019.