US assistant secretary of state meets Minister Paudel; economic cooperation discussed
KATHMANDU: United States (US) Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Donald Lu, met with Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, Bishnu Prasad Paudel, today.
In the meeting held at the Ministry of Finance (MoF) in Singha Durbar, they discussed bilateral economic cooperation, the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), the effective implementation of projects under the US Agency for International Development (USAID), the mobilisation of development finance, and private sector investment, among other topics.
"Discussions were held on the exchange of cooperation between Nepal and the USA. Talks were held on the implementation of projects operated under MCC and USAID with US assistance," said Joint Secretary at the MoF, Dhani Ram Sharma.
According to Sharma, during the discussions, the US official also showed interest in how the investment of the US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) could be made more effective and expanded, and how additional capital could be brought to Nepal, in the context of DFC's investment in Nepal's private sector as well.
"In this regard, we have expressed the government's commitment to extend support for encouraging investment from the private sector," Joint Secretary Sharma added.
On the occasion, Finance Minister Paudel said that the main priority is economic development, as there is political stability in Nepal now, and urged US Assistant Secretary of State Lu to further expand US assistance to Nepal for that purpose.
The US Assistant Secretary of State noted that although some countries in South Asia were facing economic difficulties, Nepal has successfully maintained economic growth and stability and expressed his happiness over this. He informed that the United States is in favour of providing additional economic assistance to Nepal in the coming days.
By RSS
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