Visiting USAID administrator Power meets Finance Minister

Visiting Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power, met with Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel at the latter’s office in Singha Durbar today. The meeting touched on an array of subjects including the bilateral relations between Nepal and the US, it has been said.

On the occasion, Minister Paudel said Nepal for the first time got foreign assistances after signing the point for programme in 1951, and the development partnership between the two countries reached a new height so far since. He also recalled the 75th anniversary of the bilateral relations between the two countries last year.

He also mentioned that economy of developing countries like Nepal got a slow pace due to tight monetary policy adopted by developed countries, and the impacts of climate change developed as a common global problem had added extra burden.

However, the US Government’s policy to provide assistances that go directly into the Nepal Government’s fund believing the country’s public finance system was positive, he said.

The US agreed to provide grant worth USD 650.9 million to Nepal in the next five years by the US, according to the bilateral assistant agreement Nepal reached with the USAID in 2022. The grant would be utilised through the budget system of the country, said the minister.

In return, stating that Nepal is the only country that has received assistances from the US through the government-to-government level, Power said the bilateral assistance and cooperation would continue in the days to come.