Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle Cancels International Visits to Focus on Budget Preparation

Kathmandu. Following rumors regarding the cancellation of his visit, the secretariat of Finance Minister Swarnim Wagle has issued a clarification.

On Sunday, the secretariat stated that the Finance Minister himself decided to skip the visits.

The World Bank and International Monetary Fund Spring Meetings are scheduled to take place in Washington, D.C., on April 13. Finance Minister Wagle was originally scheduled to attend.

However, it has now been decided that a delegation led by Dhaniram Sharma, Joint Secretary of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division of the Ministry of Finance, will attend in his place.

Similarly, it has been decided to send the same official to the 59th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to be held in Uzbekistan from May 3 to 6.

The Finance Minister's secretariat stated: 'As the drafting of the budget for the upcoming fiscal year has commenced, Honorable Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle has decided not to attend in person. The decision to send the Joint Secretary of the ministry to both these meetings was made last week.'