Kathmandu, Dec 2: Germany is to
provide additional six million Euros for the socio-economic development of
Nepal from its earlier development assistance of 42 million Euros.
This was announced at the conclusion of
the two-day German-Nepal government negotiations which were held on 1 and 2
December. The negotiations focussed on the three core areas of both countries´bilateral
developmentcooperation: Sustainable Economic Development and Trade, Health and
Energy Efficiency/Renewable Energy, the Embassy of Germany here stated in a
press release today.
With the first governmental negotiations
in six years, the German government recognizes the great success of the
peaceful elections in November 2013 and the democratic legitimacy of
the government which emerged out of
these elections.
The press release states that in the
course of the friendly and constructively held negotiations, the delegations of
both countries agreed on new commitments for the years 2014 and 2015 which
amount to a total of € 48 million for measures of Technical and Financial
Cooperation, an increase by EUR 6 million from the previous commitment. The
lion’s share of the committed funds will be allocated to the sectors Health (€
25.5 million) and Sustainable Economic Development and Trade (€ 15 million).
Altogether, the German financial support to Nepal amounts to approx. €1.147
billion since 1961.
It is stated that both sides confirmed
the approach of concentrating the bilateral cooperation portfolio in the three
above mentioned core areas, which were already agreed upon in the government
consultations in 2012. Sustainable development and poverty alleviation remain
the central aims of the cooperation.
Nepal has registered significant
improvements in some areas in terms of achieving Millennium Development Goals,
poverty alleviation and tackling inequalities remain the areas of further work.
Therefore, the geographical focus of the cooperation is on the rural regions in
Nepal’s Mid and Far West.
Cooperation in the field of economic
development and trade aims at creating sustainable income opportunities and
jobs, in particular for disadvantaged groups. This aim is already reflected in
the implementation of the programs “INCLUDE” as well as the “Trade Promotion
Programme”.
In the priority area of health, German
Development Cooperation supports the implementation of the National Health
Sector Development Plan. The German commitment focuses on improving the
availability, usage and quality of health services, particularly those
concerned with maternal and children’s health, as well as on supporting the
Nepalese Government in its efforts to establish a universal health insurance
system in Nepal.
Bilateral cooperation in the energy
sector concentrates on the promotion of decentralised, renewable energy supply
systems/energy supply solutions as well as energy-efficient transmission grids.
Both sides consider the improvement of
the current state of energy distribution as one of the most pressing concerns
for Nepal’s economic development.
On Behalf of the Government of Germany,
Ambassador Matthias Meyer stressed hope that the Constituent Assembly will
deliver Nepal’s new constitution (as scheduled) by January2015. He furthermore
emphasized the importance of holding local elections at the earliest possible.
Prior to the negotiations, the German
delegation visited a number of bilateral cooperation projects, e.g. the the
Middle Masyangdi Hydropower Plant near Besishar, a Solar Pumping Project in
Katiya as well as several joint programmes in health and local governance. RSS
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