Kathmandu : Led by India and China, global donors pledged over $3.5 billion as aid to Nepal, meeting half of the $6.7 billion needed to rebuild the quake-devastated nation, as Nepalese Prime Minister vowed “full transparency” and “zero-tolerance” to corruption in disbursing the relief money to the victims.
At the day-long international donors’ conference, India announced the largest aid of USD one billion to the quake- ravaged country for its massive reconstruction programme. Pledging the aid, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asserted that India will strongly stand behind the Nepalese government which is seeking to “wipe the tears” of every Nepali.
She said one fourth of the $ one billion assistance will be grant and it will be over and above India’s existing bilateral developmental assistance of another $one billion over the next five years which takes the total assistance to $2 billion. At the conference, China pledged $ 483 million to help the country rebuilt after the quake, saying it wanted to focus on sustainable development of the nation.Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also offered a concessional loan from Silk Road Fund to Nepal’s reconstruction efforts. China will offer training opportunities for 1,500 Nepalis over the next year.
Shirish B Pradhan and Manash Pratim Bhuyan
