Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has assured the donor community that the government will hold the election for Constituent Assembly (CA) on schedule.
"The election will take place on April 10 and it will solve all problems facing the country," he said, addressing the Nepal Donors Consultative Meeting in the capital, Thursday.
PM Koirala also expressed government's gratefulness to the donor community for generously assisting Nepal and Nepali people during democratic transition.
"We are very grateful for your continued support," he told a gathering of over 150 representatives of bilateral and multilateral donor communities.
Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat (File Photo)
Addressing the function, Finance Minister Dr. Ram Sharan Mahat said the meeting was organised to apprise the donor communities about peace process and development priorities of the country.
"We proposed to hold a broader donors consultation meeting to exchange views on Nepal's peace process and immediate development priorities. At the same time we are also holding this meeting also to express our gratitutde to international communisty for the moral support extended to us two years ago when the people of Nepal were rising against autocracy and for the cause of inclusive democracy. In this sense, this meeting is not a full-fledged NDF meeting. For our development partners, this is also not a pledging meeting. We are here to communicate to each other face-to-face on issues that Nepal is grappling with today," said Dr. Mahat.
Vice president of Asian Development Bank (ADB) Liqun Jin addressed the function on behalf of donor community. He noted there still are big challenges facing Nepal.
"This is a critical moment in the country's history. A moment where centuries of exclusion and disadvantage can begin to be reversed. A moment which calls for the strongest leadership and vision. The successful implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Accord and subsequent agreements is vital to move the country towards lasting peace."
He said that donors welcome the opportunity to jointly review acheivements, plans and implementation challenges.
The two-day meeting will conclude on Friday with the release of joint statement.
Meanwhile, the government is planning a Nepal Development Forum (NDF) in the fall of 2008 when the government will be seeking aid pledges from the development partners to initiate reconstruction and development. nepalnews.com sd Feb 21 08
