By Xinhua,
Kathmandu : The World Bank has said it will provide Nepal aid worth $127 million seeking to ensure success of the ongoing peace process in the Himalayan country, nepalnews.com reported Wednesday.
Talking to mediapersons at the end of a four-day visit to Nepal Tuesday, Michel Mordasini, executive director of the World Bank, said the bank’s assistance to the country would depend on the “level of implementation” and continuation of peace process.
Of the total aid, about $50 million will be spent on salaries to the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoist or CPN-M combatants who are kept in UN monitored cantonments. The aid package will also support health and rural drinking water projects.
The proposed aid will be in addition to $252 million that the bank has already announced, Mordasini said, adding that the new assistance proposal will go to the bank’s board for final approval May 6.
During their stay in Nepal, the bank team had held discussions with the prime minister, finance minister, leaders of political parties and important civil society members.
The team had also met CPN-M chief Prachanda and his deputy Baburam Bhattarai.
Mordasini said they had a “very constructive and fruitful” dialogue with Prachanda on the subject of mutual cooperation in areas like sustaining peace, accelerating development, climate change, promoting hydropower, creating jobs and improving basic services.
“The World Bank is an apolitical institution and the actual volume of assistance will depend upon progress made on the ground,” Mordasini said, while answering questions whether it would continue to support Nepal’s development efforts with the CPN-M, still tagged as a terrorist organisation by the US government, in power.