ADB Nepal Gets its New Country Director

In a latest move, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Mukhtor Khamudkhanov as its new Country Director for Nepal.

Mukhtor will lead ADB operations in Nepal and will be responsible for the formulation and implementation of ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy for Nepal, informed ADB in its recent official statement.

ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy aims at supporting a country’s long-term development needs by means of human capital, private sector and infrastructure development, while also ensuring social inclusion and regional integration.

“ADB has an extended development partnership with Nepal. My priority is to build on that partnership, work closely with the government, and effectively coordinate our country office’s extensive support to the government’s development agenda and poverty reduction efforts,” Mukhtor said in a statement.

Mukhtor held various senior positions at ADB since his joining the organization in 2001 and lastly served as the Principal Energy Specialist in the Energy Division for South Asia at ADB headquarters in Manila, Philippines.

Mukhtor’s appointment comes as a replacement to the outgoing ADB Country Director for Nepal, Kenichi Yokoyama, who served the country since 2011 and is now the Country Director at ADB’s India Resident Mission.

Nepal is a founding member of ADB and has so far received USD 5 billion in private and public sector loans, technical assistance and grants from the Bank.

This announcement gains significance in the light of a recent move by the Nepali Cabinet, wherein, it has approved USD 150 million ADB loan for infrastructure development in Nepal.