DPM Mahara reaches Japan to attend ADB Board of Director’s 50th annual meeting

SHARACHCHANDRA BHANDARY, Yokohama (Japan), May 5: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Finance Krishna Bahadur Mahara reached Japan today morning to attend the 50th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) Board of Directors.

DPM Mahara accompanied by five-member delegation was welcomed by Krishna Chandra Aryal, charge d’affaires of the embassy of Nepal in Japan.

The delegation includes Secretary of Finance Ministry Shanta Raj Subedi and Chief of the International Finance Assistance Coordination Division of the Ministry Baikuntha Aryal.

DPM Mahara is scheduled to meet with Senior Vice President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the meeting is said to focus on various aspects of mutual interest between Nepal and Japan.

He is also slated to participate in the conference of finance ministers of South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation countries. High level office bearers of the SAARC Secretariat including Secretary-General of SAARC Amjad Hussain B. Sial also reached here to take part in the meeting.

The meeting will dwell on a variety of subjects including South Asian Free Trade Area, interregional trade and investment promotion among others, informed a SAARC Secretariat official.

Meanwhile, Nepal, during a conference of ADB’s high level officials, had stressed the need for ADB and other development partners to increase assistance to elevate Nepal’s status to middle-income country by 2030.

The delegation also urged the meeting attended by ADB’s high level officials from Thailand, Myanmar, Singapore, Brunei and Malaysia to help Nepal achieve Sustainable Development Goals and in its socio-economic development, said a delegate Baikuntha.

The conference also discussed ADB’s role in its strategic partnership and policies, cooperation with private sector and making South Asia prosperous, he added. RSS