Kathmandu, Jan. 26: Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba Tuesday extended gratefulness to the private sector for providing humanitarian support to Afghan citizens, noting that it was the government responsibility to support the neighbouring country in crisis.

During a meeting with the industrialists, entrepreneurs and government representatives who returned home after handing over humanitarian aid to the Afghan citizens on January 16, Prime Minister Deuba said, “Afghanistan is passing through a very critical time. I am grateful to all the business community of Nepal for their cooperative gesture in response to the UN call for humanitarian support to Afghanistan”.
He also anticipated such gesture of cooperation in coming days as well.

On the occasion, the Prime Minister asked the private sector to make their investment in the government priority areas such as establishing a fertiliser factory in the country and expressed readiness from the government side to provided needed support for that.

“This government has the policy to encourage private sector,” PM Deuba said, adding that the government would be positively lending support to private sector in expanding their investment and yielding outcomes.
He further said that vaccination against COVID-19 is the first and foremost priority of the government and urged the general public to get vaccinated.

At the programme, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Narayan Khadka expressed happiness for the opportunity to provide support to a friendly country by chartering a flight for the first time and said it had imparted a message that Nepal can also extend support to other countries in need.

Foreign Minister Khadka shared that he had initiated a campaign after coordinating with the ambassadors of different countries and the United Nations representatives through diplomatic channels for providing humanitarian support to the SAARC member country, Afghanistan, when it was facing a humanitarian crisis. He also said that the campaign was successful.