KATHMANDU: The commitment of the government of Nepal to reforms and development agenda is encouraging, said Asian Development Bank (ADB) vice-president Zhao Xiaoyu. According to Xiaoyu, the commitment particularly against the backdrop of a challenging political environment is very encouraging.

Here on a two-day visit to Nepal, Xiaoyu said, “Continuing commitment by the Nepal government to push for reforms and achieve development goals in this transitiona phase is equally critical to supporting the peace process and achieving the longer term goal of poverty reduction.”

Xiaoyu also called on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Physical Planning and Works Bijaya Kumar Gachhedar, Finance Minister Surendra Pandey, Minister for Energy Dr Prakash Sharan Mahat and other senior government officials. He also consulted the government on ADB operations in Nepal following the ADB board of directors’ approval of the new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Nepal for 2010-2012.

In these meetings, he reiterated ADB’s continued commitment to assist Nepal to achieve development objectives. Xiaoyu said ADB will support the development of Nepal.