Nepal to seek 1 mln USD aid from India

Nepal will request India for development aid worth of 75 million Nepali rupees (1.07 million U. S. dollars) for the next five years, local media reported Tuesday.

"Nepali Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala, who is beginning a four-day official visit to India from Tuesday, will request the Indian government for development aid worth of 75 million Nepali rupees (1.07 million U.S. dollars) for the next five years," The Kathmandu Post (TKP), a private local national English daily reported.

The Nepali government's "wish list", which was presented in the meeting of Council of Ministers, or cabinet, on Monday by Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat, mainly aims to seek Indian assistance in infrastructure development, TKP quoted a government source as saying.

The proposed aid volume is far higher than what India has been extending to Nepal annually.

Currently, India provides about two billion Nepali rupees (28.57 million U.S. dollars) worth of development aid.

Apart from budgetary support, the government will seek Indian assistance in hydropower, roads and aviation sectors, the government source said, adding "the wish list has received positive signals from India."

Source: Xinhua