The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley held a bilateral meeting with his Nepalese counterpart Shri Bishnu Prasad Paudel here today. They discussed the developments in Nepal’s post-earthquake reconstruction phase being supported by the Government of India. The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley encouraged Nepal to finalize its reconstruction programme at the earliest to better utilize the USD 1 billion Government of India pledge. Shri Jaitley further expressed hope that Indian investors in the public and private sector will show interest across all sectors in Nepal especially power, healthcare and road construction. The Nepalese Finance Minister, stressed on the long history of shared economic co-operation between the two countries and thanked India for the tremendous assistance extended by Government of India to Nepal in its hour of need. Shri Paudel informed that Nepal is planning to establish a special infrastructure development bank and sought India’s help in this regard. The meeting ended with both the Finance Ministers expressing hope that the co-operation between the two countries will be further strengthened during the upcoming State visit of the Prime Minister of Nepal Shri. K.P.S.Oli in February 2016.

Reconstruction financing: urging prompt finalisation to unlock pledged support and boost cross-border infrastructure investment. Government-level financial cooperation focused on post-disaster reconstruction financing and infrastructure investment. The Union Finance Minister urged early finalisation of Nepal's reconstruction programme to enable prompt utilisation of pledged Indian support and encouraged Indian public and private investors to pursue opportunities across sectors, especially power, healthcare and road construction, while Nepal sought assistance to establish a special infrastructure development bank.