KATHMANDU — Asian Development Bank (ADB) Director General for South Asia Kenichi Yokoyama visited Nepal on 16–19 March. During his visit, Yokoyama reaffirmed ADB’s continued strong support to the Government of Nepal’s development agenda. He served as Country Director for Nepal from 2012 to 2017.
“I am very happy to be back in Kathmandu
and to meet with senior government officials to discuss ADB operations in the
country, our partnerships, and key strategic directions. ADB is committed to
supporting Nepal in its green, resilient, and inclusive recovery from the
pandemic to achieve high and sustainable economic growth, improve the lives of
Nepali people and build resilience to climate change impact,” said Mr.
Yokoyama.
“The focus now should be on structural
reforms and quality investments in infrastructure and human capital to further
stimulate private sector investments, including foreign direct investments, while
devolving services to the local level. These will raise productivity in
agriculture, manufacturing, and services— prerequisites to achieving higher
economic growth.”
At his meeting with Nepal Finance Minister
Janardan Sharma, Yokoyama applauded the government’s efforts to control the
spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and manage its impact on
public health, welfare, and the economy, as well as progress in vaccination
program, with more than 80% of the target population receiving two doses. He
sought the continued leadership of the Ministry to accelerate timely,
efficient, and quality implementation of the development programs and reforms.
During his 4-day visit, Yokoyama also met
with Minister of Culture, Tourism, and Civil Aviation Prem Bahadur Ale; Minister of Water Supply Umakanta Chaudhari; Minister
of Urban Development Ram Kumari Jhakri; Minister of Energy, Water Resources,
and Irrigation Pampha Bhusal; and Minister of Physical Infrastructure and
Transport Renu Kumari Yadav. He also met with secretaries of these ministries
and other senior government officials, project staff, and development partners.
Yokoyama also visited the ADB-supported
Kathmandu Valley Wastewater Management Project site. The $137 million project
is helping to modernize and expand the wastewater treatment facilities and
systems in the Kathmandu Valley.
ADB’s lending to Nepal increased from an
annual average of around $300 million during 2015–2017 to about $600 million
during 2018–2020.
Yokoyama said that ADB is aiming to
maintain support, at $500–$600 million in concessional resources per year in
the next 3 years, helping the government with its vision of a sustainable and
more inclusive growth.
ADB provided a concessional loan of $250
million in May 2020 to the government for its COVID-19 pandemic response that
focused on providing budgetary resources for containment and prevention,
protection of economically vulnerable groups, and providing relief to small
businesses. ADB added a $165 million concessional loan in July 2021 to help the
government procure about 15.9 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for about 6.8
million people.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous,
inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining
its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by
68 members—49 from the region.