Kathmandu, February 27:

Donors have agreed to deposit assistance amount in the Peace Trust Fund set up for reconstructing physical infrastructures damaged during the conflict and making the peace process a success.

The United Kingdom, Norway and Switzerland are set to deposit the fund.

Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat, UNDP Resident Representative in Nepal Matthew Kahane, Head of the Department for International Development of the United Kingdom (DFID) in Nepal Bella Bird, Minister Counsellor-DCM at the Royal Norwegian Embassy Kikkan Haugen, Country Director for Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation Joerg Frieden and secretary at the Ministry of Finance Vidyadhar Mallik signed the Joint Finance Agreement today.

Dr Mahat urged the donor countries and agencies to help Nepal in establishing sustainable peace. He said Nepal had to call for additional support, as the assistance received seemed inadequate in the present context. Kahane and representatives of the donor countries expressed their commitment to extend assistance in cooperation with other international donor agencies to make the peace process successful.

Charge dè Affaires of the Embassy of Finland Kari Karanko and Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Denmark Stephan Schonemann said another joint finance agreement would be signed in the near future.

The government established the Nepal Peace Trust Fund with the objective of supporting the implementation of the comprehensive peace agreement signed between the government and the CPN-Maoist.

The fund provides a mechanism to channel and coordinate resources in five areas namely, management of camps and reintegration of former combatants, rehabilitation of internally displaced people, constituent assembly elections, strengthening of law and order and police administration and supporting the peace process.

The government had also made public the procedures for the operation of the fund. A meeting of the Council of Ministers on January 18 had decided to enact the procedures.