Friday, July 5, 2019

Nepal takes lead in strengthening aid effectiveness agenda

Nepal is co-hosting a side event ahead of the Senior Level Meeting (SLM) of Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC) in New York next week, taking a leadership role in ensuring the effectiveness of the foreign aid which reaches the underdeveloped countries.
The primary objective of the event to be organised on the sideline of the GPEDC Senior Level Meeting on July 12 will be to capture the priorities of Asia-Pacific countries on key issues of aid effectiveness being discussed at the GPEDC SLM. “This will be a high-level political event,” according to joint secretary Shreekrishna Nepal, who heads the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division at the Finance Ministry. Nepal is the chair of GPEDC Steering Committee.
“We expect to have high-level representation from 86 countries from the Asia Pacific region, he added.
High-level finance ministry officials as well as finance ministers from Bangladesh, Myanmar, the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia and Japan, among others, have already confirmed their participation in the event supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The GPEDC – being held in New York on July 13-14 – will have participation of the representatives of development partner countries, aid recipient countries and civil society bodies and they will put forth their views to ensure aid effectiveness.
The event – Taking Stock of Effectiveness of Principles at Country Level: Bringing Evidence from Asia Pacific to the GPEDC Senior Level Meeting – co-hosted by the Bangladesh government aims at discussing the additional measures that may need to be taken both on the part of development partners and recipient countries to ensure aid effectiveness and help the underdeveloped countries to achieve targets set by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Nepal said there will be presentation of the findings of the study of the measures taken to ensure aid effectiveness in various 86 underdeveloped countries around the world at the event to be co-hosted by the Bangladesh government. The findings of the monitoring round study and evidence-based experiences and best practices shared by the countries from the Asia Pacific in the sideline event will be a set of messages reflecting priorities of Asia-Pacific countries to be brought into deliberations at the SLM of the GPEDC.
The discussion will revolve around the 2030 Agenda of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The National Planning Commission (NPC) – in its report – has projected that Nepal will face a financing gap of Rs 585 billion per year to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). “The public sector and the private sector are expected to face financing gaps worth Rs 218.2 billion and Rs 366.8 billion per annum, respectively, to achieve the SDGs,” the report reads.

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