MCC tabled in Parliament; MoFA says Parliament decides Development Assistance

Kathmandu / Feb. 20: The US financial assistance project Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has been tabled in the House of Representatives (HoR) two and a half years after it was registered in the Parliament Secretariat.

Minister for Information Technology and Communications Gyanendra Karki, on behalf of the Ministry of Finance, tabled the agreement for approval in the House of Representatives meeting on Sunday.

Parliament decides what Development Assistance is needed: MoFA

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated that Nepal’s parliament ‘decides what development assistance is needed in the best interest of Nepal and Nepali people.’

The MoFA made this statement in response to views that ‘appeared in various media on the Millennium Challenge Compact assistance to Nepal.

“Nepal has always been pursuing an independent, balanced and non-aligned foreign policy. In pursuant to this policy, as a sovereign country, Nepal has accepted and utilized development assistance as per her national requirement and priority,” read the MoFA press release issued in response to the media queries and the views related to the MCC.

The government views come out in the context of the tabling of the MCC in the parliament on Sunday despite protests by different organisations of the political parties.

“Development assistance has played an important role in the building of infrastructures and development in Nepal. The Government of Nepal remains grateful to our neighbours and those friends with whom Nepal has traditionally been enjoying strong partnership and cooperation as well as regional and multilateral development partners, including the United Nations for their continued support to the socio-economic development of Nepal. The decision to accept development assistance is taken by Nepal in terms of our national interest and priority. The sovereign parliament of Nepal alone decides what development assistance is needed in the best interest of Nepal and the Nepali people. We sincerely hope for the continued goodwill of our friends,” read the MoFA press release.

The government response is made public also in the backdrop of a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson remarking the US pressure on Nepal to ratify the MCC as coercive diplomacy and the US embassy in Nepal expressing its concern over violence in the protest and making it clear that it’s Nepal’s decision to accept the MCC.