'ADB is committed to scaling up grants to Nepal'

A senior official of Asian Development Bank (ADB) has said the bank is committed to scaling up its grant allocation to Nepal in the coming years to help the country meet its development needs in the post conflict transition.

"Such assistance will largely depend on country's performance, mainly in the areas of macroeconomic stability, governance and portfolio performance," Kunio Senga, Director General of ADB's South Asia Department, said at the end of his four-day visit to Nepal Monday.

During his meetings with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and other senior government officials, Senga stressed the importance of staying the course on economic reforms to address poverty and other development challenges as well as achieve higher economic growth crucial for sustained peace and stability, an ADB release said.

The ADB rep had also met with the Ministers of Finance Agriculture, Water Resources, Physical Planning and Reconstruction, Law, Justice and Constituent Assembly, and Tourism and Civil Aviation. nepalnews.com Sept 08 08