The Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) have signed a 4.5 million Australian dollar (some 3.6 million U.S. dollars) cost sharing agreement to continue support for the MicroEnterprise Development Program (MEDEP) in Nepal.

According to a statement issued by United Nations House in capital Kathmandu on Friday, the additional resources from AusAID will allow UNDP to support 20,000 more low income families to establish agro-based, forest-based, tourism-based and service-based micro-enterprises through its MEDEP, Phase III (April 2008 -December 2010).

The program aims to contribute to the Nepali government's efforts to reduce poverty by creating economic opportunities especially for the poor, unemployed youths, women and those from socially marginalized groups.

To ensure the sustainability of the program, MEDEP III will also support capacity building within the local bodies, non-government organizations and private sector.

In the signing ceremony, Susan Grace, the Australian Ambassador to Nepal, said "Australia's support for MEDEP supports the development and livelihood needs of the poorest and the most vulnerable. By addressing issues of exclusion, MEDEP is contributing to securing the peace in Nepal."

UNDP Country Director Anne Isabelle Degryse Blateau said "employment, especially for the youth and women, is one of the top priorities for Nepal. AusAID's contribution is critical to help promote this agenda, and we very much look forward to this continued partnership."

MEDEP is a joint initiative of the Government of Nepal and UNDP since 1998 and the program is being implemented in 31 districts of Nepal, according to the statement.

Since its inception, MEDEP has developed about 37,000 micro-entrepreneurs (67 percent women, 21 percent Dalits and 47 percent youth) and created about 42,000 additional sustainable jobs for the poor and excluded groups. The average increase in the income of entrepreneurs has been 278 percent, the statement said.

Source: Xinhua