KATHMANDU: Finance Minister Dr. Prakash Sharan Mahat has returned home after attending the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Banks Governors meeting held in Gujarat, India.
Talking to media persons upon his arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport on Wednesday, Finance Minister Mahat said the meeting was significant to inform the international community about different types of problems and challenges the underdeveloped and developing countries were facing.
“It was a significant opportunity to mention problems of the underdeveloped countries in the meeting. Issues including problems of climate change facing the underdeveloped countries, global challenges surfaced with the use of information technology, management of digital transaction were raised”, he explained.
The Finance Minister further said we got an opportunity to put forth our views on how the digital transaction and its tax-related issues could be managed.
The G-20 countries also showed interest in the issues of low economic growth rates and decreasing loan flow seen across the globe, he shared. Minister Mahat viewed that significant meetings were held with development partners and donor agencies during his India visit.
He shared, “We held discussions with donor agencies such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank, among others. We also held bilateral meetings with the finance ministers of India and China and discussed bilateral investment and trade. There was an eventful meeting with India’s private sector entrepreneurs regarding investment in Nepal.”
During the third G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) meeting, Minister Mahat said that he had briefed the international community about climate change and how Nepal was bearing with the loss and damages emanating from the climate crisis.
Furthermore, he also raised the issue of how developed countries could contribute towards minimizing the climate crisis in countries like Nepal.
“We floated issues on how the scope of international cooperation for sustainable development could be enhanced and the impact of inflation in the international market could be reduced on the people’s lives among others in the G-20 forum,” he said.
G-20 Member nations such as China, Japan, the United States, and France among others as well as international organizations such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the like participated in the summit.
In the meeting of the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG), a wide range of issues such as world economy and world health, sustainable finance and infrastructure development, international financial scenario, international tax system, financial inclusion among others were discussed in various sessions, it was shared.
Similarly, topics relating to cooperation on the management of public debt, regulation and monitoring of cryptocurrency transactions, and optimizing technology in public infrastructures among others were also deliberated in the meeting.
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