The Group of the Finance Minister who went to Morocco to Participate in the World Bank Meeting

Kathmandu: The Nepalese team including the Minister of Economy, who went to Marrakesh, Morocco to participate in the joint annual meeting of the World Bank and the IMF, has returned to the country today.The team of the finance minister who went to Morocco to participate in the annual meeting of the World Bank has returned home. The Nepalese delegation, led by Finance Minister Mahat, went to Marrakesh, Morocco to participate in the joint annual meeting of the World Bank and the IMF, and returned to Nepal today.

In this meeting, after reviewing the problems that have arisen during the year’s performance and the progress achieved, the strategy of the next year is discussed among the representative countries.On the sidelines of these annual meetings, where finance ministers from all over the world participate as governors of the World Bank, participants are given the opportunity to discuss matters of collective and bilateral interest and to network with the international community.

On the sidelines of Nepal are Regional Vice President of IFC Ricardo Puliti, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Korea Choo Kyung Ho, European Union Commissioner Jutta Urpialinen, IMF Deputy Managing Director Bo Lee,

World Bank Regional Vice President Martin Razor and World Bank Vice President for Development Finance Akihiko Nishio had a meeting on different days and times. Apart from that, the members of the Nepali delegation also participated in the discussion of the importance and preconditions of public electrical infrastructure, investment in human capital development, access to concessional loans for small and vulnerable countries, and the group of 20 countries potentially affected by climate change.

A team including the Finance Secretary and Joint Secretary and the Governor from Nepal National Bank participated in the Nepali delegation under the leadership of the Finance Minister.

In a meeting with the regional vice president of IFC, Ricardo Puliti, the team including the finance minister discussed increasing private investment and external capital mobilization, developing a pipeline of potential projects,

Diversifying innovative financing tools as well as equity exposure, deploying technical assistance for project development in public private partnership, mobilizing additional capital through local currency based bonds and including these in the upcoming country partnership framework of IFC were discussed.

Similarly, in the meeting with Bo Lee, Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, the Minister of Finance raised the issue of financial governance, transparency and the need for reforms according to Nepali context and environment. He was of the opinion that some of the pre-conditions for taking a loan should also be reformed according to the needs of Nepal and that only reforms based on local needs, capacity and context can be sustainable and effective.

Similarly, Finance Minister Mahat, in a bilateral discussion with European Union Commissioner Jutta Urpialinen, demanded to remove Nepal’s airspace from the EU’s list of security interests and allow the Nepali flag carrier to fly in European skies, and it was also agreed to continue discussions on this matter at the technical level.

In a meeting with Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chu Kyung Ho, Finance Minister Mahat asked Korean companies to invest and benefit as foreign companies invested in Nepal are making profits.

The policy of further facilitating the investment of the private sector in the budget of the current year will continue, since India has decided to purchase 10,000 megawatts of electricity annually, hydropower,

He presented the ideas that there is an opportunity to earn good income in Nepal in the fields of administration line, IT, agriculture, tourism, Nepalese workers are contributing to the economy of Korea and Korean companies can benefit even more if they invest in Nepal.

Similarly, the Korean side has also been requested to provide concessional loans, grants, and support in capacity building in infrastructure development. The Korean side also requested Nepal to sign an agreement regarding the elimination of double taxation and to cooperate and support the Busan World Expo that Korea is planning to organize in 2030.

Agreeing to the proposal of exchanging high-level visits, Finance Minister Dr. Mahat has requested the Korean side that Korea’s labor law is good and to further improve it and to allow Nepali Airlines to fly directly to Korea.

Responding to the presentation made by Wimpi Saputra and Yati Kurniati, Executive Director of the Voting Group of 11 countries including Nepal at the World Bank and IMF, Finance Minister Dr. Mahat mentioned that since Nepal is affected by the disproportionate impact of climate change, loan assistance should be made more subsidized and investment in capacity development programs should be made.

The finance minister emphasized that the commitment to increase the concessional rate should be concretely reflected in the “playbook” prepared by the World Bank. Similarly, due to the practice of distributing the financial facilities of the International Monetary Fund based on traditional quotas, the needs of underrepresented countries are not being reflected, so it has been proposed that the process of quota review should be reconsidered.

In a separate discussion with World Bank Regional Vice President Martin Razor and Akihiko Nisio of Development Finance, a commitment to provide concessional loans of up to Rs 1,30 billion for the Upper Arun Hydropower Project was revealed
The World Bank was positive on the Finance Minister’s proposal to hold the 21st replenishment meeting of ID in Nepal.In the meeting, while reviewing the progress of the current project, last year only 9.2 percent disbursement was done, it was raised that attention should be paid to improving the capacity in the pre-preparation of the project, site clearance and contract settlement.

In the same way, World Bank officials also suggested that the projects scattered in many areas should be spent only in two or four priority areas, with which Finance Minister Mahat also seemed to agree.

Both sides agreed to prepare for the mobilization of budgetary assistance worth US$ 300 million or Rs 39 billion within the current financial year.

Under this, policy reforms will be carried forward in the field of public finance, financial sector and green, uplifting and inclusive development. The Minister of Finance proposed a new model of program aid in the field of physical infrastructure.

Under which, for the implementation of small projects, investment can be ensured based on Nepal’s own social and environmental risk reduction standards.

It has been expressed that Nepal is at the forefront in the implementation of the improved concept and through this concept there will be harmonization among the development partners as well as increased efficiency in the operation of the climate fund. The World Bank has agreed to provide necessary coordination and cooperation in this regard.