Finance Minister Pun and WB’s Vice President Rager meet

Finance Minister Barshaman Pun and Vice President of the World Bank for South Asia, Martin Rager, held a meeting today. Rager is in Nepal leading the World Bank Group in the Third International Investment Summit.

On the occasion, they discussed the 21st meeting of WB’s International Development Association which is scheduled in Kathmandu from June18-21.

President of the WB Group, Ajay Banga, would participate in the meeting, shared the Finance Ministry. The World Bank Vice President said that high-ranking officials of the World Bank would carry out onsite visit of different under construction projects with WB’s investment after the 21st meeting of IDA.

Finance Minister Pun shared that an arrangement for onsite visit of such projects would be made. He further said preparation was underway for the IDA meeting.

An organising committee was formed under leadership of Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini and Management and Coordination Committee under coordination of Head of International Economic Cooperation and Coordination Division under the Finance Ministry, Srikrishna Nepal, for the preparation of the meeting and both committees have forwarded activities for the same, explained Minister Pun.

Representatives of 92 countries including WB’s President Ajay Banga would participate in the IDA meeting. IDA is the part of the World Bank that helps the world’s poorest countries by providing zero-low interest loans and grants for programmes that boost economic growth and improve people’s living condition.

The WB Group chose Nepal to organised the IDA meeting as various countries including Nepal had proposed for the same. A meeting of this level of the World Bank Group was not held in Nepal before. The IDA meeting is held in every three years. The 20th IDA meeting was organised in Japan from December 14-15, 2021.