MCC can be amended before being passed: Dahal

Kathmandu / Feb 22: Co-chairperson of the ruling Nepal Communist Party (NCP), Pushpa Kamal Dahal, has indicated that the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) project to be funded by the government of the United States of America could be amended before being passed.

NCP (NCP) Co-chair, also the former primer minister, while talking to mediapersons today said that the taskforce formed by the party to study the MCC Nepal Compact agreement had submitted its report on Friday. The report was handed over to the party chairpersons — Dahal and Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli.

Led by NCP (NCP) Secretariat member Jhalanath Khanal, the taskforce was established after majority of members in the recently-concluded central committee meeting of the party raised questions about some of the provisions in the agreement and its link with the US Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Stating that Prime Minister Oli too was of the opinion that the agreement could be amended as is suitable to the country before being endorsed, Dahal said that not everything in the document is negative, nevertheless, it also doesn’t have to be agreed upon right away. He added that the party formed the taskforce in order to properly understand and study the document before finalising it in favour of the country.

Likewise, Dahal informed that PM Oli, on Thursday, told the American side that the agreement could be implemented after amendment if there be any concerns from Nepal’s side.

The taskforce has recommended that MCC agreement can be endorsed only after being amended as there were many shortcomings in the document and some of its provisions undermined Nepal’s sovereignty and independence.

Meanwhile, the US side has clearly stated that since the agreement was signed in September 2017 after two years of negotiations, amendment is not possible at this point of time.