SAARC Development Fund: The SAARC development fund in Thimphu received USD 300,000 (Nu 16.2M) from China as a voluntary contribution to support social activities carried out by the fund.
The cheque was handed over by the Chinese ambassador to Nepal, Yang Houlan, to the chief executive of SDF, Karma, yesterday at the Fund’s secretariat office in Thimphu.
During the press conference with local media, Ambassador Yang Houlan said China, although not yet a member of SAARC, has so far been impressed by the efforts made by member countries to promote social and economic activities.
“No country can develop without close cooperation with each other, especially neighbours,” Yang Houlan said.
CEO Karma said the money comes without any condition. The contribution from China to the fund will be used for social programs within the SAARC region.
The SDF has so far utilised around USD 18M for its social programs. An outlay of USD 50M has been committed for social programs. The fund also supports economic and infrastructure programs.
“We’ll be opening up the other two windows of investment by this year-end, or early next year,” Karma said.
Unlike the social window, where SDF funded social projects under grants and assistance, SDF will be looking for money from international agencies to fund economic and infrastructure projects, by lending it to different projects.
The contribution from China is the second of its kind. In total, China has so far contributed USD 600,000 to the fund.
By Nidup Gyeltshen
No comments:
Post a Comment