US looking to pour more bucks in Nepal

KATHMANDU, DECEMBER 9: Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Bishnu Prasad Paudel, and the visiting United States (US) Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu, held a meeting today.

In the meeting at the Ministry of Finance in Singha Durbar, they discussed bilateral economic cooperation, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the effective implementation of projects being carried out under the US Agency for International Development (USAID), mobilizing development finance, and private sector investment, among other topics.

"The discussions were held regarding the implementation of projects operated under the MCC and USAID with US assistance," said Dhaniram Sharma, Joint Secretary at the Ministry.

According to Sharma, during the talks, the US official also showed interest in how the investment from the US Development Finance Corporation (DFC) could be made more effective and expanded, as well as how additional capital could be brought to Nepal, especially in the context of DFC’s investment in Nepal's private sector.

"In this regard, we expressed the government's commitment to support and encourage investment from the private sector," added Joint Secretary Sharma.

On the occasion, Finance Minister Paudel emphasized that the main priority is economic development, as Nepal now enjoys political stability, and urged US Assistant Secretary of State Lu to further expand US assistance to Nepal for this purpose.

The US Assistant Secretary of State stated that, although some countries in South Asia are facing economic difficulties, Nepal has succeeded in maintaining economic growth and stability, and expressed his satisfaction with this. He informed that the United States is committed to providing additional economic assistance to Nepal in the coming days.