Kathmandu, April 9
In the past last fiscal year (mid-July 2019 to mid-July 2020), Nepal received foreign assistance worth Rs 60.53 billion to fight the Covid-19 pandemic, but over 91 per cent of it has come as a loan, informs the Ministry of Finance.
Likewise, six per cent of the aid has been received as technical assistance, two per cent as grant and one per cent as a direct payment, according to the ministry.
In the fiscal year, Nepal received Rs 236.23 billion in foreign aid, and around 25.5 per cent of it was meant for the Covid-19 response, reads a report launched by the ministry about the country’s dependence on foreign aid.
The Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Union, World Bank and the United States of America have contributed 94.4 per cent share of the total aid received.
Meanwhile, the ministry reports a 21.2 per cent increase in the amount of foreign aid received last fiscal year from the amount of aid received in the previous year. In the fiscal year 2019/20, the size of foreign aid was equal to 23.3 per cent of the annual budget.
