International donors dig deep to raise billions of dollars in aid for Nepal
Foreign donors and agencies announced billions of dollars in aid for Nepal yesterday, but it fell short by half of what the Himalayan nation wants to rebuild from the devastating earthquakes earlier this year that killed more than 8,800 people and made millions homeless.
The biggest donation came from the giant southern neighbour India, which pledged assistance of US$1 billion during a one-day donors' conference in Kathmandu.
"Nepal and India are joined in both their joys and sorrows," Indian External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said.
"Therefore, we need to closely coordinate our disaster response, and help each other in the wake of such calamities."
India, which surrounds Nepal from three sides, was the first to respond to the April 25 earthquake in what was its largest disaster assistance effort abroad.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said his country would provide US$483 million.
Asian Development Bank pledged US$600 million and Japan said it would give US$260 million. The United States said it would provide US$130 million. The World Bank had already announced US$500 million for Nepal.
Nepal has said it requires some US$6.7 billion to fund its reconstruction.
The government wants all aid to be channelled through a new state body, raising concerns among some donors that bureaucracy and poor planning will hamper reconstruction.
Prime Minister Sushil Koirala urged delegates to "work with us, the government of Nepal" and vowed "zero tolerance toward corruption".
"I assure you that we will [leave] no stone unturned in ensuring that the support reaches the intended beneficiaries," he said as he opened the one-day meeting in Kathmandu.
Nepal's Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat said his country's trade deficit will widen following the earthquake, while foreign reserves remain adequate with transfers from the rest of the world increasing.
"It is now certain that the target for revenue collection in the current fiscal year will face a shortfall of eight per cent," he said. "This is the reason why we are looking to our development partners to fill a growing fiscal gap for the next three to five years."
The magnitude-7.8 earthquake was followed by a magnitude-7.3 quake on May 12, with both killing 8,841 people. About 875,000 private and government structures were damaged, according to Nepal's National Emergency Response Centre.
