Minister Khanal holds meetings with World Bank, IMF officials

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 15: Finance Minister Rameshore Prasad Khanal held separate meetings with Managing Director of World Bank Group Anna Bjerde and Deputy Managing Director of International Monetary Fund Bo Li.

Khanal, who is in Washington DC, United States, to attend the annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, met with representatives of the two donor agencies.

In his meeting with World Bank Managing Director Bjerde, Finance Minister Khanal said that the main task of the government formed after the Gen Z protests in Nepal is to promote good governance and accountability in addition to holding elections on time, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance on Tuesday.

He also said that the present government is committed to accelerating the institutional and procedural reforms needed to improve the business environment and to undertake preparatory work for legal reforms.

Minister Khanal expressed gratitude for the support provided by the World Bank Group in Nepal's development efforts and said that cooperation with the Bank would be further strengthened in the coming days.

On the occasion, World Bank Managing Director Bjerde discussed with the Finance Minister the issues of reforms needed in economic and development management, stating that the World Bank is willing to work with the interim government of Nepal.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with Deputy Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Bo Lee, Finance Minister Khanal thanked the IMF for its support and cooperation in Nepal's economic reform.

Minister Khanal said that the remaining reforms related to the Extended Credit Facility currently being implemented in collaboration with the IMF will be taken forward and that cooperation with the IMF will be strengthened in the coming days.

On the occasion, Li congratulated the successful completion of the sixth review of the Extended Credit Facility and said that the IMF will continue to support the upcoming economic reform.

Governor of Nepali Rastra Bank Dr. Biswo Nath Poudel was also present in the meeting.

Meanwhile, Finance Minister Khanal addressed an interaction organised by Nepal-America Chamber of Commerce and said that the government is determined to create an investment-friendly environment.

He also assured that ambiguities in tax-related laws will be removed, the profit repatriation process will be simplified, and the processes for investors to approve investments and close businesses will be made easier.

On the occasion, representatives of various companies mentioned that some decisions and provisions of tax laws and other regulatory bodies in Nepal have made investors uncomfortable.

Finance Minister Khanal said that tax laws will be finalised after adequate discussions during the formulation of the Financial Act and that policy and legal reforms will be made through research and development on other issues.

Today, Finance Minister Khanal met with Johannes Jutt, Vice President for South Asia of the World Bank Group, and discussed the development projects currently being implemented by the World Bank in Nepal and the problems being faced in their implementation.