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Press Release
2 April 2007
UK £36.5 million boost for peace in Nepal
UK Minister visits Nepal to support peace process
Today, Gareth Thomas, the UK’s International Development Minister, became the first representative of an overseas government to visit Nepal following the swearing in of the new interim Government at the weekend. Welcoming the move towards peace after 10 years of violence he announced £13 million in aid for the Nepali Government led Peace Trust Fund and at least £23.5 million in debt relief until 2015.
Gareth Thomas said:
"The formation of the interim government is a step down the path to lasting peace in Nepal.
"I look forward to meeting members of the interim government to discuss their immediate priorities and how they will work towards elections and build a peaceful and democratic Nepal for all the people."
The UK will give an immediate boost of £ 4.6 million to the Government led
Nepal Peace Trust Fund to help push the peace process forward. This is made up
of £1.5 million from its aid budget to Nepal and £0.8 million from the
UK’s Global
Conflict Prevention Pool
(1.2mb).
A further £2.3 million comes from the
UK Multilateral Debt Relief
Initiative (UK MDRI) for 2006/ 07, which the Nepali Government has allocated
to the Peace Trust Fund.
The UK Department for International Development (DFID) will make an additional £8.5 million available for the Peace Trust Fund, depending on progress made on public financial management. The UK will also provide debt relief through the UK MDRI of at least £23.5 million until 2015 to help Nepal meet its debt service payments to the World Bank.
The Peace Trust Fund will help:
- monitor the progress of the peace agreement;
- support the fair and free elections scheduled for June 2007, with voter education, polling materials and computers;
- support livelihoods and education for former soldiers, including child soldiers;
- re-settle up to 40,000 people forced to move by the conflict, helping them return home, and make sure they have access to health services and schools; and
- address human rights and increase the capability of local law and order services through rebuilding police posts and providing communications equipment, vehicles and training.
Gareth Thomas said:
“This is the first real chance to bring peace to Nepal during the last decade. The agreement is in place, the political process is moving forward and plans have been drawn up to rebuild and bring long term, sustainable development to the country.
“UK funding, along with contributions from other key donors, is essential to make this happen. We cannot afford to let the chance of peace dissolve and progress to be lost. The cost in human suffering and the impact on the country’s future development would be unacceptable.
“The UK is committed to supporting sustainable peace in Nepal, now in the immediate transition to peace, and in the long term, but Nepal’s political leadership must meet the challenge of building an effective, inclusive and accountable state that all of its people can benefit from.”
Mr Thomas, who is visiting Nepal this week, will meet with representatives from across the whole political spectrum as part of the vital engagement with all sides of the conflict in Nepal over the last decade. He will stress the importance of the need for the process to be inclusive in order to be successful.
Mr Thomas also announced that the UK will increase its development aid to Nepal by 17% from £37 million in the current year 2006/07 to £43 million in 2007/08. He indicated further increases in the coming years if the government makes progress on increasing accountability to the people of Nepal and progress on the peace process.
Notes for editors
1. Gareth Thomas is visiting Nepal between 2-3 April 2007. He will meet the Home Minister, the Minister for Information and Communication and other key government figures. He will also visit Sankhuwasava to see how UK aid is helping Nepal cope with problems such a deforestation and climate change and supporting the education system. More detail on the visit can be obtained from the DFID newsroom on +44 (0)20 7023 0600.
2. DFID’s budget in Nepal for 2006/07 totalled £37 million and will rise to £43 million in 2007/08. An additional £3.2 million in 2006/07 has been allocated through the Conflict Prevention Pools – which support jointly agreed priorities combining programmes of development, diplomacy and defence. A further commitment will be made for 2007/08.
3. Following recent political events, including the signing of the peace agreement between the Government of Nepal and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist) on the 21st November 2006, the UK Department for International Development (DFID) is one of five donors that have supported the government in setting up the Nepal Peace Trust Fund. The initial contribution of £2.2 million will be followed by further disbursements as the Fund begins to implement programmes of work.
4. The UK government has also offered support under the UK Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (UK MDRI), reimbursing our share (10%) of Nepal’s debt service to the World Bank. The first payment is £2.3 million has already been made, with another £1.1 million in six months time. There will be annual payments totalling another £23.5 million between 2007-2015.
5. DFID hosted an international conference “Development Dilemmas”, on 5-6 March in London, looking at lessons to be learned from conflict and post-conflict situations and the challenges for development in Asia, with a particular focus on Nepal. This was followed on 7 March by a donor’s conference for Nepal, involving senior Nepalese Government officials, the World Bank, UN Special Representative, Asian Development Bank and key donors including the UK, Norway, Denmark and Finland.
