KATHMANDU, JULY 19

Finance Minister Prakash Sharan Mahat has returned home after attending the G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Banks Governors meeting held in Gujarat, India.

Talking to mediapersons upon arrival at Tribhuvan International Airport today, Minister Mahat said the meeting was significant in that it informed the international community about different types of problems and challenges facing underdeveloped and developing countries. 'It was a significant opportunity to mention the problems of underdeveloped countries.

The issues, including problems of climate change facing underdeveloped countries, global challenges that have surfaced with the use of information technology and management of digital transaction were raised,' he said.

Minister Mahat further said, 'We got an opportunity to put forth our views on how the digital transaction and its tax related issues could be managed.'

Minister Mahat said the G-20 countries also showed interest in the issues of low economic growth rate and decreasing loan flow seen across the globe. He viewed that significant meetings were held with the development partners and donor agencies during his India visit. 'We held discussions with donor agencies such as World Bank, Asian Development Bank, among others.

We also held bilateral meetings with the finance ministers of India and China and discussed bilateral investment and trade.

There was an eventful meeting with India's private sector entrepreneurs regarding investment in Nepal,' he said.

During the third G-20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, Minister Mahat said he had briefed the international community about climate change and how Nepal was bearing loss and damages emanating from climate crisis.

Furthermore, Minister Mahat also raised the issue on how developed countries could contribute towards minimising the climate crisis in a country like Nepal.

'We floated the issues of how the scope of international cooperation for sustainable development could be enhanced and how the impact of inflation in international market could be reduced in people's lives, among others in the G-20 forum,' he said.

G-20 member nations such as China, Japan, United States, France, among others as well as international organisations such as World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and the likes participated in the summit.

A wide range of issues such as world economy, world health, sustainable finance, infrastructure development, international financial scenario, international tax system, financial inclusion, among others, were discussed in various sessions of the meeting.

A version of this article appears in the print on July 20, 2023, of The Himalayan Times.