World Bank urges government to utilise aid

World Bank country director for Nepal and Bangladesh Ellen Goldstein urged the government not to lose sight of Nepal’s long-term development goals and to effectively utilise the $ 1.3 billion currently allocated to Nepal across 17 ongoing projects.

"Visible development results will underpin the direction and volume of finances the World Bank can bring to Nepal in the new cycle of assistance," said Goldstein before wrapping up a week-long visit today.

She also hailed Nepal's progress in health, education and livelihoods. "The breakthrough we look forward to achieving in the coming days is in the areas of infrastructure that contribute to growth and jobs."

During her visit, she took stock of the implementation of World Bank supported projects at meetings with senior government officials, including finance minister Barshaman Pun and education minister Dinanath Sharma.

She also met civil society representatives, development partners as well as community leaders during extensive project visits to the mid-western region.

During the meetings, Goldstein also initiated discussions on World Bank’s next assistance strategy for Nepal beginning in July 2013. Despite the prolonged transition, she noted that Nepal has managed to achieve stable development results.

World Bank country manager for Nepal Tahseen Sayed and other officials accompanied Goldstein during the meetings. During her meeting with the education minister, Goldstein appreciated the government’s commitment to improving governance and transparency in the implementation of key activities. They agreed to periodically review the impact of these on development results.

Goldstein visited project sites related to education, health, agriculture productivity, irrigation, targeted poverty reduction, and urban development in Rupandehi, Kapilvastu and Palpa districts where she was welcomed by community leaders and project beneficiaries.

In her discussions, she noted that good progress had been achieved on the ground, particularly in the outreach to vulnerable communities and the positive impact on the lives of women.