Dr Bhattarai states Nepal's priorities for NDP plenum
Finance Ministry Dr Baburam Bhattarai on Monday said that peace, democracy and development would be the three prime agenda of the government for the Nepal Development Forum (NDF) meeting.
He made the remark during his extensive discussions with Kathmandu-based foreign donors as a preliminary preparation of the NDF meeting to be held on May 12-14 in Kathmandu.
The meeting was attended by representatives of donors including World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), DfID, IMF, DANIDA, India, China and Finland.
Dr Bhattarai also assured the donors that the government will holistically chalk out clear priorities of development for the coming three years before the NDF meet. The finance minister also asked them to realise the constraints and acknowledge the realities of the transition phase in Nepal while preparing aid programmes.
In the same vein, he also called upon the representatives of Nepal’s development partners to adopt a ‘transitional sensitive approach’ to development needs rather than standard normal applicable approach.
On the occasion, the rebel-turned minister also presented a brief overview of the implementation of the current fiscal year budget.
“The macro economic situation is in good stead and most of the indicators are constantly looking up,” he said.
He also admitted that even though revenue collection was exceeding the target, the government has not been able to mobilize resources to kick-start development activities.
Dr Bhattarai further remarked that the budget deficit was within the appropriate limit and that external assistance also was coming as committed. nepalnews.com Mar 03 09
