KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Barshaman Pun met with Faris Hadad-Zervos, the Country Director of the World Bank for the Maldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, at the Ministry of Finance on Monday.
During the meeting, Minister Pun urged the World Bank to enhance its economic and technical assistance to Nepal.
According to Minister Pun’s secretariat, he requested the World Bank’s Country Director to prioritize Nepal due to the ongoing economic challenges in the country.
Minister Pun also expressed the expectation of a higher level of coordination and cooperation from the World Bank, emphasizing its role as a key development partner for Nepal.
He highlighted the importance of the World Bank’s assistance in generating employment and expediting economic activities.
“The economy is under pressure to some extent due to both internal and external reasons. In this challenging situation, we expect further assistance from the World Bank,” said Finance Minister Pun.
Minister Pun shared that efforts were underway to implement reforms in the public finance sector and increase capital expenditure.
Additionally, Minister Pun informed that the Nepal government was actively engaged in implementing key projects supported by the World Bank, such as the Upper Arun Hydropower Project, province and local road infrastructure development projects, and the Digital Nepal project.
During the meeting, the World Bank’s Country Director highlighted the importance of government coordination to ensure satisfactory results from the projects funded by the World Bank.
Country Director Faris Hadad-Zervos also informed the Finance Minister about the development of a new partnership strategic framework by the World Bank.
Furthermore, he briefed Minister Pun about the preparations for the meeting of the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank scheduled to take place in Kathmandu in June 2024.
The IDA provides fiscal assistance, concessional loans, and grants to developing countries.
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