Kathmandu, April 6: Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle will not attend upcoming international meetings of Nepal’s major development partners, citing the start of preparations for the next fiscal year’s budget.
According to his secretariat, the decision comes as the budget drafting process is already underway, requiring the minister’s presence in Nepal.
Earlier, it was reported that Prime Minister Balen Shah had barred Wagle from going abroad to attend conferences. As a result, the Finance Ministry stated that the minister has skipped conferences to prepare the new federal budget.
The 59th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank is scheduled to take place in Uzbekistan from May 3 to 6. Similarly, the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are set for April 13 in Washington, D.C.
With the minister opting out of both high-level forums, the Ministry of Finance is preparing to send senior officials as representatives. The secretariat confirmed that joint secretaries from the ministry were designated last week to attend the meetings.
The decision reflects the government’s priority to focus on the sensitive and time-bound task of drafting the national budget, with Minister Wagle choosing to remain in the country to oversee the process.
People’s News Monitoring Service
Login to add a comment