KATHMANDU, SEPTEMBER 19
World Bank Vice-President for South Asia, Martin Raiser, concluded his first visit to Nepal today, with the commitment to support the country's federalism and green, resilient, and inclusive development (GRID).
Raiser met with Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba and Finance Minister Janardan Sharma to discuss Nepal's economic recovery and growth priorities.
"Nepal has the opportunity to develop in a green, resilient, and inclusive manner and many of these development decisions need to be taken at the local level," said Raiser. "The World Bank is committed to further supporting Nepal's federal system to empower provincial and local governments and bring services and job opportunities to the people."
The World Bank Group's Country Climate and Development Report for Nepal, launched by Raiser on September 15, examines the growing evidence of climate change impacts in Nepal and offers solutions to support low-carbon, resilient development.
It identifies four transition areas that are fundamental to addressing climate risks and achieving broader development goals in Nepal: Integrated approaches to managing water, agriculture, and forests; harnessing hydropower opportunity and energy transition; managing sustainable urbanisation; and strengthening low-carbon resilient connectivity.
"I commend Nepal's commitment to focus on long-term green and inclusive growth and build resilience to climate and other shocks," said Raiser. "An important next step is to develop a detailed plan that will identify and prioritise specific actions, explore financing options given fiscal constraints, and support their implementation at all levels of government."
Raiser participated in a high-level meeting on strengthening federalism and urban resilience in Pokhara with senior representatives from the federal, provincial, and local governments, and development partners. He visited the Tal Chowk-Begnas Lake road being built with the support of the World Bank-financed Nepal Urban Governance and Infrastructure Project.
A version of this article appears in the print on September 20, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.
