Kathmandu, Dec 14 (Nepal Foreign Affairs)–German Ambassador to Nepal Matthias Meyer and Finance Secretary Lok Darshan Regmi on Monday signed agreements on special commitments for earthquake rehabilitation of a total volume of Euro 30 million.
According to a press release issued by the German Embassy in Kathmandu, the commitments comprise two programs:
- A Financial Cooperation Recovery Program (Euro 25 million), which is implemented by German Development Bank-KfW on behalf of the Government of Germany. This program will focus on the reconstruction of district hospitals severely damaged by the earthquake, and the reconstruction of rural energy distributions networks. In addition, substantial support under this program will be directed towards the rehabilitation of cultural heritage sites, schools and roads in the city of Bhaktapur.
- 2. A Reconstruction Program (Euro 5 million) is implemented by German Agency for International Cooperation – GIZ (Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Internationale Zusammenarbeit). This project aims at ensuring essential healthcare services, the provision of temporary housing and other urgent needs with a regional focus on Dhading, Nuwakot, Rasuwa and Bhaktapur districts.
In total, the German Government has committed Euro 35 million for immediate humanitarian relief and rehabilitation measures following the devastating earthquakes.
In addition, more than Euro 60 million of private donations was mobilized in Germany by Non-Government Organizations, highlighting the particularly close relations and solidarity between the two people, the embassy said.
Following the signing ceremony at the Finance Ministry, Ambassador Meyer expressed his concern over the impact of current border disruptions, which hit the people in the earthquake-affected districts and the poorer populations particularly hard.
He appealed to the responsibility of all sides to come to a peaceful settlement of their conflicting views for the sake of its people in need.
The German envoy also urged the Nepal government to provide adequate institutional mechanisms to the reconstruction process in order to prevent a humanitarian crisis from unfolding in the coming months.