India extends $340 million soft loans to Nepal

The Dollar Business Bureau

Extending solidarity to its neighbour, India on Sunday committed soft loans of $340 million to Nepal for several infrastructure projects.

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu inked a letter of exchange with Nepal’s Physical Infrastructure and Planning Minister Ramesh Lekhak at the 'Nepal Infrastructure Summit 2017', committing $340 million of soft loans for Nepal’s 15 road projects.

Prabhu also met Nepal's President Bidya Devi Bhandari at Rashtrapati Bhawan to discuss key bilateral and regional issues. Prabhu also held a meeting with Nepalese minister Lekhak to discuss potential areas of bilateral cooperation.

The two leaders discussed the effective execution of past projects, development and expansion of railways in Nepal and expediting construction of the ongoing projects. India also reiterated its commitment towards the expansion of postal services.

The Nepalese minister hoped India would go on supporting Nepal's infrastructure development activities.

Prabhu ensured his Nepalese counterparts that Nepal would continue to receive neighbourly support and cooperation from India.

The Railways minister travelled to Nepal to take part in 'Nepal Infrastructure Summit 2017 organised by the Confederation of Nepalese Industries (CNI) in collaboration with the Nepalese government and Youth Community for Nepalese Contractors (YCNC). The two-day summit will end on February 20.

“The infrastructure meet would be pivotal for accelerating Nepal's economic growth at a time when the country is striving to graduate to the league of developing nations,” said the minister, who was also the guest of honour at the summit.