ID :
369278
Fri, 05/29/2015 - 13:07
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Nepal To Host Donor's Conference In Kathmandu Next Month

By Yuba Nath Lamsal KATHMANDU, May 29 (Bernama) -- Next month, Nepal will host a donors' conference in Kathmandu to solicit funds for reconstruction and rehabilitation in view of a massive earthquake which battered the Himalayan nation on April 25. The temblor left more than 8,600 people dead and damaged property worth billions of Malaysian Ringgit. Despite a proposal from some countries to host the conference outside Nepal, the Council of Ministers decided to hold it in the country's capital, Kathmandu on June 25. Information Minister Dr Minendra Rijal, who is also government spokesman said: "The conference will seek to collect more support from the international community for reconstruction, in the wake of the devastating earthquake and its subsequent aftershocks. "This is because Nepal’s own resources are inadequate (to tide over the current situation)," he said. The government has estimated the reconstruction and rehabilitation would require at least US$5 billion, for which a separate reconstruction fund - to be handled directly by a committee headed by the prime minister - has been instituted. Nepal has initially deposited US$200 million in the reconstruction fund as seed money and has sought at least US$2 billion from the donors. Earlier, India and Japan offered to host the donors' conference in their countries to raise funds for Nepal's reconstruction. However, the Nepal Government decided to host the conference in Kathmandu. Nepal planned to seek fund commitment from the donors based on the post-disaster needs assessment (PDNA) which was underway, Finance Secretary Suman Prasad Sharma told Bernama on Friday. However, he declined to elaborate on the exact amount Nepal would seek from the donors. "Once we finalise the PDNA, we will be able to ascertain how much we need," he said. In addition to seeking reconstruction fund, debt relief would be a key agenda of the conference, noted Sharma. "Debt relief and more foreign grant assistance are the main agenda of the conference." The Nepal Government and donors are jointly conducting the PDNA for which 23 different groups have been dispatched to different earthquake-hit districts of the country. In a two-day joint meeting in Kathmandu beginning May 20, Nepalese officials and representatives of donor countries and agencies finalised the PDNA's terms of reference. According to the terms of reference of the post-disaster needs assessment, the groups will make assessment of the damages in, among others, sectors like housing, settlements, health, nutrition, education, cultural heritage, transport, water and sanitation, electricity, communication and tourism. A total of 39 of 75 districts in Nepal have been affected by the earthquake, of which 11 are worst-hit. --BERNAMA

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