Hartwig Schafer, Vice President of the World Bank for South Asia, urged Finance Minister Janardan Sharma to expedite the implementation and facilitation of projects run with the assistance of the Bank.

Stating that policy reforms were needed, he expressed his commitment to continuing the assistance being provided by the Bank to Nepal.

During the meeting Finance Minister Sharma has pointed out the need for additional assistance from the World Bank (WB) to Nepal to control the COVID-19 pandemic

."The World Bank has been supporting Nepal's development for a long time. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has also provided emergency financial and technical assistance in the purchase of vaccines. I want to thank you for that," he said.

Stating that the present government was moving towards the economic recovery by providing vaccines to all citizens, he said that the further support from the WB was a must in this regard.
The Executive Director of the Bank Mohd Hassan Ahmad expressed his commitment to assisting Nepal during the meeting He also requested Nepal to actively participate in the upcoming joint annual conference of the WB and the International Monetary Fund.

As Nepal is facing a economic crisis, a visit of a delegation from the World Bank was highly important.