On his visit to the far-west state to observe the damage caused by floods and landslides, PM Deuba mentioned that the MCC was subject to Nepal’s interest.

“The MCC will be endorsed. And I don’t see anything that needs amendment. Fake news and disinformation about MCC have been widespread,” said PM Deuba.

He said that the MCC was nothing more than a grand, claiming that some are trying to create chaos around the MCC endorsement.

The MCC Nepal compact is just a development grant, he said adding, “Why should Nepal reject such generous support?”.

Meanwhile, PM Deuba promised to provide short-term and long-term relief packages for flood victims and draft reconstruction plans in the eastern and western regions.

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The United States and Nepal signed the Compact in September 2017, and Nepal has committed to ratify the deal by September 2019.

However, the Nepali Government has missed the deadline as the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP) is largely divided over the issue. While Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli has been pressing for its endorsement, NCP Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal has sought some amendments. A majority of NCP leaders claim that certain clauses of the agreement are against Nepal’s national interest.

But, recently, a month ago, both the party chairs had agreed to seek amendments in the Compact before the Federal Government endorses it.

Amid the growing uncertainties surrounding the ratification of the MCC Compact, the US Government has informed that it is prepared to clarify the inquiries from the Nepali Government about the deal.

“MCC is prepared to respond to inquiries from the government of Nepal to support and update their understanding of the compact’s clauses,” said Anna Richey-Allen, Spokesperson at US Embassy in Kathmandu.

“Prior to signing the MCC compact in 2017, both the Nepali government and the MCC fully reviewed and agreed upon each provision during formal negotiations,” reminded Richey citing the claims that certain clauses are against Nepal’s national interest.

He also warned that, though accepting the grand is Nepal’s choice, the availability of the funding is no longer an open-ended offer.

“In order for the compact to be viable, it is important for the Nepali Government to ratify the compact and complete the remaining preliminary activities for the project as soon as possible,” he added.

Nepal will receive USD 500 million grant under the MCC Compact to build electric transmission infrastructure and perform road maintenance activities and directly benefit 23 million Nepalis.

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The meeting was held at the PM’s residence in Baluwatar on February 4, 2020.

He asserted that the three-member committee will submit a report on the Compact within a week.

Later, when asked about his health, PM Oli said that he will soon undergo kidney transplantation.

“MCC Compact offers a valuable opportunity to Nepal and there is no reason for the country to reject the USD 500 million grant,” PM Oli said.

Chaos Around MCC Compact

There are many speculations and criticism about the Compact among the Nepali citizens and political leaders, saying that the conditions in the Compact are against the spirit of the Nepali Constitution.

They exclaimed that MCC is a part of Indo-Pacific Strategy or linked to a military alliance.

Later, the US Embassy in Nepal has published 10 key facts about MCC Compact to clear the confusion about the Compact on January 17, 2020.

The US Government has committed to invest USD 500 million under MCC Compact to fortify Nepal’s economic growth and stability.

Nepal Government has proposed and decided the Electricity Transmission Project and the Transportation Project for MCC program.

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He said this to the NCP (Nepal Communist Party) lawmakers during a meeting in the National Assembly on January 20, 2020.

Gyawali ruled out the suspicions of the NCP lawmakers and leaders, who exclaimed that MCC  is a part of Indo-Pacific Strategy or linked to a military alliance.

He told that MCC agreement is aimed at increasing investments and accelerating infrastructure development in the country.

Earlier, in view of the suspicions raised by the Nepali leaders and citizens about MCC, the US Embassy in Nepal has published 10 key facts about MCC compact.

The Embassy said that MCC focuses mainly on the economic development of Nepal through transparency and true partnership.

Here’s the key facts on MCC:

The Embassy has published the Key facts about MCC in its official website, https://np.usembassy.gov on January 17, 2020.

Nepal Government has proposed and decided Electricity Transmission Project and Transportation Project for MCC program. The US Government has committed to invest USD 500 million under MCC compact to fortify Nepal’s economic growth and stability.

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The two countries are holding a meeting to review bilateral relations and explore new areas of cooperation in the wake of Nepal’s new political scenario.

According to Nepal Foreign Affairs Ministry (MoFA), Foreign Minister Pradeep Gyawali will be visiting US on December 17, 2018 to meet the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo.

Amidst a public function in Gulmi on December 16, 2018,  Gyawali called the visit ‘significant’ as this will leave no room for the notion that USA always looks at Nepal through ‘New Delhi’s perception’.

This has been a common perception in Kathmandu following US opinion, based on India’s assessment of Nepal’s internal politics, development priorities and regional & multilateral issues.

Bilateral Meetings
During his US visit, Gyawali will interact with high-level officials from the White House, USAID, Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), US Senators and Congressmen among others.

“I will urge US officials to pursue and exercise independent views and position while assessing Nepal’s foreign policy, on Nepal’s geo-political positioning, regional and multilateral cooperation and collaboration,” Gyawali categorically told the Post.

US has decided to provide Nepal MCC support which focuses on fighting poverty through economic development.

“As independent countries, Nepal and the United States have to look at each other with independent eyes. “If there remains any confusion, we will erase them,” said Gyawali.

Besides this, both the countries’ foreign representatives will discuss on boosting trade, tourism investment and people-to-people contact and various other potential areas of cooperation.

Nepal will also propose the establishment of a bilateral consultative mechanism between the two countries. The mechanism will be created to draw in US cooperation in line with Nepal’s national priorities and maintain documentation of the meetings outcome.

It is important to note that Nepal is giving primary importance to establishing such bilateral constructive mechanisms with all major countries.

While it will not be feasible to pitch a similar mechanism this time in US, officials say that Nepal and US will have the foreign secretary consultation meeting to discuss the system and sign a MoU.

Foreign Policy Expert Opinions
Foreign Policy experts in Kathmandu opine that the US bilateral meeting invitation shows the importance US attaches to Nepal.

Experts are also of the opinion that this visit will remove Nepal’s speculation that the US Government is not comfortable with the current leftist government.

Nepal Delegation to US
Besides Foreign Ministers, a team of government delegations of both countries will also hold discussions during his visit.

Nepal Foreign Secretary Shanker Das Bairagi will lead the Nepali side, while the Department of State, South and Central Asian Affairs Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary Alice G Walls will head the US delegation.

The Nepali delegation also includes SA Arjun Kumar Karki, joint secretaries from MoFA and Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Home Affairs and officials from the Nepali Embassy in Washington DC.

Gyawali’s visit is seen as an attempt to reach out to global powers to establish Nepal as a prominent position in the international scene

Nepal-US Joint Disaster Drill
In another occasion, the Nepali Army and the US Army Pacific are all set to conduct a joint disaster rescue exercise in Pokhara in another five months from now.

According to Nepal Deputy Secretary Nabraj Baral at Gandaki Province’s Office of Chief Minister and Council of Ministers, a preliminary deliberation has started for the joint exercise. He added that the exercise is being held for the first time.

”The two armies will share their experiences of rescue operation with each during the joint exercise,” he said.

The exercise will last for eight days.

The post Nepal-US Bilateral Consultative Meeting After 17 Years! appeared first on Nepali Sansar.

U.S. Government’s Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has announced plans for investing $500 million in Nepal for increasing the regional energy connectivity in South Asia and enhancing the business opportunities between the countries in the region.

The investment is also aimed at achieving an improvement in the power sector governance and the road maintenance regime in Nepal. It would finance the construction of high voltage power lines across a distance of 300 kilometers covering approximately one-third of Nepal’s length, three large substations and the Nepali portion of the second high voltage cross-border transmission line.

According to Fatema Z. Sumar, MCC Regional Deputy Vice President for Europe, APAC, and Latin America, the total investment in the project is likely to be $630 million with a contribution of $130 million from the Nepal government.

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