Kathmandu, May 11

IOM, the UN migration agency, and the World Bank today signed two new framework agreements that will facilitate easy access of IOM’s expertise to governments implementing projects with World Bank funding.

The World Bank and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) play key complementary roles in addressing globally relevant development and humanitarian challenges, including understanding and addressing forced displacement, promoting early and sustainable recovery during and after crises, identifying innovative solutions to protracted crises, exploring the link between migration and development, addressing the impact of climate change on mobility, strengthening the response to pandemic and ensuring social protection.

IOM welcomed to Geneva Manuela Ferro, vice president of operational policy and country services at the World Bank, who signed the memorandum of understanding covering two standard framework agreements during an afternoon session, as per a media release.

“Given the interest of the World Bank in addressing protracted displacement crisis, population mobility and its development impacts, the issue is particularly relevant and important for IOM,” Luca Dall’Oglio, IOM chief of mission in Washington DC, has been quoted as saying in the release. “The conclusion of these agreements will establish the required financial modalities for the World Bank and IOM to effectively support the concerned national authorities at the country level in the implementation of important projects,” he added.

These frameworks will streamline procedures for cooperation and see an immediate impact, as they will expedite IOM’s engagement with the government of Iraq under the World Bank-financed Emergency Social Stabilisation and Resilience Project. That effort aims to increase the livelihoods of over one million Iraqis through the provision of cash, short-term employment and other services.

IOM and the World Bank have already a long-standing partnership on data collection and analysis, knowledge management and joint programmes. The new agreements will strengthen and simplify the cooperation between the two
institutions for the benefit of the client countries.

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Kathmandu, May 11

The government is planning to expand electricity access to every household of the country within five years.

Even though electrification in the country dates back 104 years, 35 per cent of the households across the country still lack
access to electricity.

The recently unveiled white paper has also mentioned the government’s plan to ensure access to electricity for each household, stated Minister for Electricity, Water Resources and Irrigation (MoEWRI) Barsha Man Pun.

Addressing a programme organised by the National Association of Community Electricity Users Nepal (NACEUN) in Lalitpur today, Pun said the government had already called on domestic and foreign investors to invest in the energy sector.

He further added that the MoEWRI was collaborating with Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) to ensure electrification of all the areas that have still not been connected to the national grid.

He said that speedy completion of projects that are being constructed by NEA and independent power producers (IPPs) would help realise the government’s vision of lighting up the entire nation.

Iterating the government’s commitment of ‘Prosperous Nepal, Happy Nepali’, Pun stated, “The government is committed to build 10,000 megawatts of electricity within 10 years.”

The recent study carried out by NEA Engineering Company — a subsidiary company of NEA — showed that investment of Rs 204.37 billion (Rs 148 billion for generation and Rs 56.37 billion for transmission and substation) is required to ensure grid connectivity throughout the country within five years.

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Kathmandu, May 11

The country’s trade deficit surged by 21.5 per cent in the first nine-month period of the ongoing fiscal.

In the review period, the country exported merchandise worth Rs 59.62 billion, while imports stood at Rs 874.88 billion. The mismatch between imports and exports resulted in trade deficit of Rs 815.26 billion.

According to the nine-month data unveiled by Trade and Export Promotion Centre (TEPC) here today, the trade deficit has surged significantly when compared to the corresponding period of last fiscal.

Comparing the year-on-year data of the nine-month period, the TEPC report shows that while Nepal’s total imports soared by 20.4 per cent, export growth remained tepid at 7.4 per cent.

The country’s export-import ratio in the ninth month of this fiscal had increased to 1:14.7 from 1:13.1 in the previous fiscal. This means that by the ninth month of this fiscal, for exports worth one rupee, Nepal was importing goods worth Rs 14.7.

Sarad Bickram Rana, executive director of TEPC, played down the concerns related to surging trade deficit. “Considering that the export volume has also gone up and that we have diversified our markets, the nine-month report is quite satisfactory.”

While India’s share in Nepal’s total imports rose in the review period, exports to the southern neighbour ticked up marginally. Nepal imported goods worth Rs 576.07 billion from India — the country’s largest trading partner — in first nine months of this fiscal that ended in mid-April, against exports worth Rs 34.17 billion.

Similarly, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 113.95 billion from China in the review period against exports of Rs 2.05 billion.

Likewise, Nepal imported goods worth Rs 184.88 billion from other countries, against exports worth Rs 23.39 billion.

In addition, the major export goods from Nepal included woollen carpets, readymade garments, hides and skins, lentils, cardamom, tea, ginger, noodles, pasta and like, medicinal herbs, and essential oils.

Even as carpet remained the top export commodity of the country, the export volume has dropped 10 per cent in the current fiscal. As per TEPC, the country exported carpets worth Rs 5.09 billion in fiscal year 2017-18, while its export had stood at Rs 5.65 billion in fiscal 2016-17.

Meanwhile, petroleum products were the major import goods, followed by iron and steel products, machinery and parts, transport vehicles and parts, cereals, electronic and electrical equipment and parts, gold, pharmaceutical products and cement clinkers.

According to TEPC, the import of petroleum products jumped by 34.2 per cent to Rs 117.29 billion in this fiscal. In the same time period of previous fiscal, Rs 87.39 billion worth of petroleum products had been imported.

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