Kathmandu: The Government of Nepal and the Government of the Federal Republic of Germany have signed two important agreements regarding financial and technical assistance.
At a programme organised at the Ministry of Finance today, Joint-Secretary at the Finance Ministry, Dhaniram Sharma, on the behalf of the Government of Nepal and Ambassador of Germany to Nepal, Udo Volz, on the behalf of German government, signed on the agreements.
The two agreements would support the priorities of Nepal’s energy, health, agriculture, and inclusive development, shared the Ministry. Under the Financial Aid Agreement, the German government has expressed commitment up to 20 million Euro support for the Power Distribution Strengthening Programme.
The project would be focused in upgrading and strengthening Nepal’s power distribution system, it is said. The project would be implemented through Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) and an implementation agreement will be signed between NEA and German Development Bank for the same.
The agreement would be implemented till September 2, 2029. It is stated that the technical cooperation agreement is based on the long-term framework agreement signed in 1974 and the amended agreement of 2009.
Germany will provide support in various sectors with an estimated commitment of up to 21 million Euros under this agreement. The said project will support the health sector by continuously providing support for national gender equality and social inclusion strategies in the health sector, and will help to enhance the quality of infrastructure in the health system.
Similarly, the project aims to support programmes that promote the development of agriculture and the private sector, and an inclusive and climate-resilient economic development. The project will also provide consultative and technical assistance through further studies and an expert fund.
It is stated in the agreement that the implementation of this technical assistance agreement will also be completed within five years, that is, by 5 September 2029. On the occasion, Ministry Joint Secretary Sharma expressed gratitude for Germany’s continuous support in the development endeavours of Nepal.
Ambassador Volz said that this new commitment has further strengthened Germany’s collaboration with Nepal and the Nepalese people in the areas of energy, sustainable economic development and health.