ADB Vice President Zhang: Broader, Deeper Regional Cooperation and Integration Could Turn Nepal into Land-Connected Country
28 March 2016
Mr. Wencai Zhang, Vice-President, Asian Development Bank (ADB), discussed ways to accelerate Nepal's economic structural transformation with policy makers, scholars, and Government officials in “Envisioning Nepal 2030”, an international seminar held on 28 March 2016 in Kathmandu, Nepal, organized by the National Planning Commission (NPC) and ADB.
In his address, Vice President Zhang lauded Nepal's move to establish a long-term socio-economic development vision and strategy, to pave the way for the country to graduate from 'least developed country' status in 2022, achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, and become a middle-income country by 2030.
Highlighting regional cooperation and integration as one of ADB’s key strategic agendas, he discussed how Nepal could turn from a landlocked country into a land-connected country through broader and deeper regional cooperation and integration, to unleash its huge growth potential, in diverse areas including hydropower and high-value agriculture.
Vice President Zhang, during his 4-day visit, also called on Nepal Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Oli to discuss the country's development potentials and challenges. He also met with Nepal's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Energy Top Bahadur Rayamajhi and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Paudel, where he reiterated ADB's continued support for Nepal's inclusive growth through investments in agricultural diversification and productivity, water supply and sanitation and rural roads, and by working to attract private sector investment and public-private partnerships for large-scale hydropower and transmission projects and high-value agricultural value chains.
Under its partnership strategy with Nepal for 2013-2017, ADB will prioritize major investments in power generation and transmission, enhancing capacity of international airports, building new economic corridors to promote regional trade and reforming higher education systems.
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