Leaders and experts offer mixed views on MCC

KATHMANDU, May 7: Political leaders and experts have called for clarity on policies in regard to foreign assistance adding that national sovereignty and national interests were above all other considerations. 

Like in the past, the politicians sharing their opinions made diverse views on Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) and ratification of the MCC Compact from the parliament.  

At a programme organized virtually by Friends of Silk Road and Nepal China Friendship Forum on Thursday, former Deputy Prime Minister and Defense Minister Dr Bhim Rawal took exception to some of the points of MCC agreement. 

He reiterated that the some issues of MCC should be amended adding otherwise the parliament should not ratify it. 

However, former Foreign Affairs Minister and Nepali Congress leader Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat praised the MCC Compact stating that the MCC Board is chaired by Secretary of the Finance Ministry to facilitate the projects’ timely completion and it is in Nepal’s national interest.

Dr Mahat was of the view that the grant received under the MCC would be mobilized as per Nepal’s laws adding that the MCC in Nepal was brought into controversy due to misleading information and propaganda.

Also speaking at the programme, infrastructure expert Dr Surya Raj Acharya said that MCC is not only a development project adding that there is a diplomatic mistakes from our side. “Our interests should be adjusted; national interests are crucial,” he said, arguing that even the stakeholders and politicians are ill-informed in Nepal. 

Likewise, National Council Member Confederation of Nepalese Industries Gyanendra Lal Pradhan backed the MCC stating that it is more focused on development of infrastructures and it has nothing to do with politics. Power grid is important in Nepal adding that if the transmission lines were not completed, electricity prices will go up, he argued. 

President of Friend of Silk Road Dr Kalyan Raj Sharma said that the programme was organised to inform the people and welcome healthy discussions of the stakeholders and experts.