Nepal, UK sign Rs 13 billion grant agreement for climate resilience, empowerment

Kathmandu, Aug 29 (PTI) Nepal and the United Kingdom have signed two separate memorandums of understanding (MoU) relating to grant aid amounting to approximately Nepalese Rs 13 billion.

One of the grants with funding of around Nepalese Rs 6.5 billion is for the programme focused on resilience, adaptation, and inclusion in Nepal, while another amounting to Nepalese Rs 6.58 billion is related to gender and human development outcomes, officials said on Wednesday.

"Resilience, Adaptation, and Inclusion in Nepal (RAIN) programme is a six-year initiative to be implemented by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Forest and Environment to strengthen disaster risk management and climate change adaptation, respectively," according to officials.

The RAIN programme will operate in Karnali, Lumbini, and Madhesh provinces.

The second agreement, Samartha, is a seven-year programme designed to enhance the systems and capacities of provincial and local governments to expand access to and deliver quality social services, with a particular focus on the education and health sectors.

This programme would be implemented by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Health and Population. Samartha will operate in the Lumbini and Madhesh provinces.

The MoUs were signed by Dhani Ram Sharma, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Finance, on behalf of the Nepal government and Pippa Bird, Development Director and Deputy Ambassador at the British Embassy in Kathmandu, on behalf of the UK government, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance.

"These two MoUs are a testament to the cordial and steadfast development cooperation between our two countries. I believe that the relevant government agencies will coordinate effectively to achieve the objectives of these programmes," Sharma said. PTI SBP GSP ZH GSP