(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Nepal's Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat left for New Delhi yesterday to invite Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to an international donor conference being hosted in Kathmandu on June 25 to raise funds for reconstruction following the damage caused by the devastating
April 25 earthquake.
Mahat will meet Modi today and will hand over an invitation extended by Prime Minister Sushil Koirala to participate in the conference the Himalayan nation is hosting.
Nepal is sending special invitations only to Modi, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang and UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Foreign Minister Mahendra Bahadur Pandey will be traveling to Beijing later this week to invite Li.
Though the exact picture of the damage caused by the quake and aftershocks is yet to be made public - called Post Disaster Need Assessment - preliminary estimates made by the finance ministry suggest it could be around $10bn.
The Nepal government has already set up a $2bn fund for the reconstruction and
rebuilding.
More than 65 representatives from various nations, donor agencies, development partners and multilateral donor agencies will be invited, said the finance ministry.
"We have great expectations from Modi whose prompt response immediately in the aftermath of the quake was commendable and praiseworthy. So, we expect the same kind of generosity from India and the Indian government for this conference," a senior
finance ministry official said.
Besides meeting Modi, Mahat will meet his Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and other leaders.
According to the finance ministry, bilateral discussions would be held regarding utilisation and implementation of the financial support announced during Modi's visit.
Modi had announced a soft loan of $1bn during his visit to Nepal in August last year.
Discussions would be held on various issues, including opening of bank accounts of Nepalis residing in India, countervailing duties bearing Nepali production in India, Indian investment in Nepal and bilateral trade expansion.
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