Kathmandu: The foreign ministers of India and China held talks here on Thursday morning on the sideline of an global conference to provide aid to Nepal for rebuilding its infrastructure in the wake of a series of quakes.
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“To overcome the huge challenges of rehabilitation and reconstruction, we need a robust global partnership for doing what we must with clear goals and plans of action”, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala told donors from more than 60 countries and aid agencies in Kathmandu.
The poor nation of around 20 million people was hit by a massive 7.9-magnitude seism on April 25, leaving over 8,500 people dead and causing widespread devastation.
Additional pledges of $600 million from the Asian Development Bank, $260 million from Japan, $130 million from the U.S, $100 million from the EU, $58 million from Britain poured in through the day, supplementing an earlier offer of up to $500 million from the World Bank.
Dev Ratna Dhakhwa, secretary general of the Nepal Red Cross Society, said earlier he feared Kathmandu’s “one-window policy” for reconstruction would obstruct relief efforts, with political parties already trying to manipulate the system to siphon off funds.
India’s total assistance to Nepal over the next five years now stands at $2 billion. Out of the pledged amount, one-fourth was in the shape of grant, Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj announced.
Swaraj made the announcement during an worldwide donors conference organised by the Nepalese government to raise funds for reconstruction programmes.
Japan will help in rebuilding 7,000-earthquake resilient schools destroyed by the natural disaster in collaboration with Asian Development Bank, Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Minoru Kiuchi said. The Union Government in April 2015 had launched Operation Maitri to help the Nepal Government.
Swaraj said India stands ready to depute its professionals to share their expertise and experience in Nepal’s reconstruction efforts. Already one in four of 28 million Nepalis lives on a daily income of less than $1.25.
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The worldwide community pledged several billion dollars in aid to Haiti after a catastrophic seism struck the Caribbean nation in January 2010. Relatives and friends come later.
