Koirala, Powell meet

KATHMANDU: US Ambassador to Nepal Nancy J Powell called upon Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala on Friday at the latter’s official residence in Baluwatar. Powell put queries relating to procedures of Constituent Assembly and formation of government and status of implementation of republic, Prime Minister’s Foreign Affairs advisor Aditya Baral said. According to Advisor Baral, PM Koirala told Powell that consensus has been reached among Nepali Congress, CPN (UML), Madhesi Janadhikar Forum and Tarai Madhes Democratic Party to form the government and they are preparing for further talks to form the government of national consensus by including CPN (Maoist). — RSS

Rs 1.7 bn ADB grant

KATHMANDU: The Asian Development Bank has agreed to provide a grant assistance of $25 million (Rs. 1.7 billion) to Nepal for implementation of Information and Communication Technology Development Project. The agreement to this effect was signed by Secretary at Ministry of Finance Bidyadhar Mallik and Country Director of ADB, Nepal Resident Mission, Paul J Heytens on behalf of the Government of Nepal and ADB, at the Ministry of Finance on Friday. The project is expected to make ICT more accessible to remote areas. — RSS