Nepal and ADB sign agreement for over Rs 13 billion concessional loan

KATHMANDU, Nov 24: The Government of Nepal and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed an agreement for a concessional loan amounting to Rs 13.3 billion (USD 100 million) for the implementation of programmes of Public Finance Management and Strengthening Service Delivery.

An agreement to this was signed between Finance Secretary Krishna Hari Pushkar and Asian Development Bank Nepal's Regional Country Director Arnaud Cauchois at the Ministry of Finance today. 

"Public Finance Management and Strengthening Service Delivery are the major priorities of the government. This (concessional loan) would support in the implementation of restructuring public finance as well as in fiscal federalism," Finance Secretary Pushkar said.

The government was effortful to strengthen public finance management and public service delivery through various reformative measures from the current fiscal year's budget, the Finance Secretary added.

Similarly, Regional Director Cauchois expressed his confidence that the loan would assist in making Nepal's financial system sustainable and make the government's periodic programmes more effective.

He further said that the loan to be obtained from the ADB under this title was linked to Nepal's medium-term and long-term national plan to upgrade Nepal to a middle-income country by 2030.

It is a concessional loan obtained by Nepal for budgetary assistance. The first phase of the Public Finance Management and Strengthening Service Delivery has been implemented. 

The current loan is for the second phase of implementation, it was shared.