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Kathmandu,Saturday February 19, 2000 Fagun 07, 2056.
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Germany
agrees Rs 2 b grant for Nepal
70 pc of agreed fund to go for poverty
alleviation
By
a Post Reporter
KATHMANDU, Feb 18- A three-day long bilateral negotiation between
Germany and Nepal on future cooperation concluded here today extending over two billion
rupees of grant assistance to Nepal for 2000-2001.
Of the committed funds, 70 percent will be utilized in projects and
programmes aimed at poverty alleviation, which has evolved as the top priority area of
German-Nepal cooperation in the recent times.
Besides poverty alleviation, the two sides also agreed to continue
with the existing successful joint promotion of projects in the focal areas of urban and
rural development, health and family planning, energy generation from hydropower and
strengthening of the private sector.
Finance Secretary Ram Binod Bhattarai and Dr Karl Kirchhof, Director
South Asia, Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development, Germany signed an
agreed minute on behalf of their respective government amid a function here today.
During the negotiation, both sides also discussed the general
framework and structural reforms required in the focal areas and emphasized the need for
government policies to be visibly development oriented. It was also agreed that the joint
projects in the sectors of rural development, forest, microfinancing and agriculture would
focus on encouraging the self-help approach.
On the occasion, responding to the queries raised by journalists, Dr
Kirchhof said that Nepal still remains high on German agenda. "Though German
government has reduced the aid recipient countries by over 30 percent, Nepal remains as
the first priority country," said Dr Kirchhof.
Lauding Dr Kirchhof, who is retiring next week as the Director South
Asia, for his positive attitude towards Nepal, Finance Secretary Bhattarai said,"
there were occasions when we had differences on various issues but with his mature visions
he would always understand our problems and come out with amicable solutions."
During the negotiation, the two sides also agreed on cooperation in
the area of urbanization. Germany has committed a further 700 million rupees of its
assistance in the field of urban development. Similarly, about 600 million rupees of grant
assistance will be utilized for the generation of electricity through hydropower. In
addition to the construction of small hydropower plants in rural areas, it has planned to
support a new medium-sized hydropower plant. The German government is also helping Nepal
in the areas like strengthening the potential of the private sector and to reform the
Income Tax Administration.
Germany is one of the most important partners in Nepal’s
development endeavor. Besides its official bilateral assistance, Germany also supports
Nepal through its contributions to non-governmental organizations and multilateral
institutions. In 1997, German payments- directly benefiting Nepal- to the European Union,
the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations Development Programme and
other UN organizations amounted to 735 million rupees.
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