Nepal Foreign Affairs (Kathmandu, July 15) : Unveiling the budget for the fiscal year 2015-2016, Finance Minister Dr Ram Sharan Mahat on Tuesday said that the government has allocated RS 2 billion for Nepali missions abroad in order to purchase land and assets.
The minister also said that all Nepali missions abroad will be further strengthened, reinforced and made them effective so as to they can work toward promoting Nepalese economic diplomacy. However, the minister did not announce precise budget for promoting economic diplomacy.
Stating that Nepal will replace the handwritten passports within the fiscal year, Finance Minister Mahat also unveiled the government’s plan to introduce E-passport at the soonest. Earlier, the government extended a contract with the Oberthur Technologies of France to print 2.5 million Machine Readable Passport copies. Nepal must replace the handwritten passports by December 2015 in line with the mandatory provision of the International Civil Aviation Organization.
Giving priority in Nepal’s rebuilding and rehabilitation, the government has announced a budget of Rs 819.468 billion for the fiscal year 2015-2016 .