KATHMANDU: To mark the 50th anniversary of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and to inform all about the bank’s work, a photo exhibition 'Towards A Prosperous Nepal' was inaugurated on January 19 at Nepal Art Council, Baber Mahal by Secretary at the Ministry of Finance Shanta Raj Subedi and ADB Nepal Resident Mission Country Director Kenichi Yokoyama.

The exhibition showcases around 100 images of ADB's operations in Asia and the Pacific with particular focus on Nepal.

Some photos are of school girls in uniform, blueprint of the Gautam Buddha Airport, Sumitra Shrestha — a single woman who was empowered by ADB Skills for Employment project, a rural woman carrying a load of straw, and vegetable stalls prioritising women vendors in Bharatpur market.

Addressing the event, Subedi said, "The exhibition is a fitting tribute to ADB's assistance in driving socio-economic growth and development in Nepal. It highlights the long-standing and solid relationship between Nepal and ADB."

He said ADB has always played a supportive role — like in 1970's when Nepal's priority was agriculture, or reducing poverty and increasing poor and disadvantaged's access to public services.

"Here you find photos of success, but we should also focus on projects that failed have due to our weaknesses. We should focus on that picture too," he stressed.

Yokoyama expressed happiness on marking the 50th anniversary of ADB as well as half-a-century of ADB-Nepal partnership in development.

He said, "Nepal's journey in development has been dramatic over the decades, and we are proud of our partnership with the country. We have been with Nepal through challenges like the civil conflict, prolonged political transition, and the 2015 earthquake. Despite these, Nepal is steadily progressing combating poverty and social disparities. ADB's current partnership strategy (2013-2017) focuses on helping the country achieve its objective of accelerated, sustainable, inclusive economic growth."

Currently, ADB is supporting 32 projects and programmes in Nepal.

The exhibition is open till January 25 in Kathmandu, and will open in Pokhara from January 30 to February 1.