International donors pledge $3.5 billion to rebuild quake-hit Nepal

India announced the largest aid of $one billion to the Himalayan country

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj with Prime Minister of Nepal Sushil Koirala in Kathmandu on Thursday. Ms. Swaraj asserted that India will strongly stand behind the Nepalese government which is seeking to “wipe the tears” of every Nepali.

Led by India and China, global donors on Thursday pledged over $3.5 billion as aid to Nepal, meeting half of the $6.7 billion needed to rebuild the quake-devastated nation, even as Nepalese Prime Minister Sushil Koirala vowed “full transparency” and “zero-tolerance” to corruption in disbursing the relief money to the victims.

At the day-long international donors’ conference, India announced the largest aid of $one billion to the quake- ravaged country for its massive reconstruction programme.

$1 billion more to follow

Pledging the aid, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj asserted that India would strongly stand behind the Nepalese government which is seeking to “wipe the tears” of every Nepali..

She said one fourth of the assistance would be grant and it would be over and above India’s existing bilateral developmental assistance of $one billion over the next five years which takes the total assistance to $2 billion.

China chips in At the conference, China pledged $483 million to help the country rebuilt after the quake, saying it wanted to focus on sustainable development of the nation.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi also offered a concessional loan from Silk Road Fund to Nepal’s reconstruction efforts. China will offer training opportunities for 1,500 Nepalis over the next year.

Japan aid package Japan announced an assistance package of $260 million and said it would focus on three areas: school rebuilding, housing and infrastructure.

Japan will, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank, help in rebuilding 7,000 earthquake-resilient schools destroyed by the quake, Japanese State Minister for Foreign Affairs Minoru Kiuchi has said.

Additional pledges Nepal also received additional pledges of $600 million from the Asian Development Bank, $130 million from the U.S., $100 million from the EU as well as an earlier announcement of up to $500 million from the World Bank.

Nepal has said that it needs around $6.7 billion to recover from the disaster, which killed nearly 9 000 people and destroyed nearly half-a-million houses and left thousands in dire need of food, water and shelter.

Full transparency Earlier, opening the international donors’ conference, Prime Minister Sushil Koirala, pledged to ensure full transparency in massive reconstruction efforts, seeking to allay international donors’ fears over corruption.

“I assure you that we will leave no stone unturned in ensuring that your support reaches the intended beneficiaries,” he said. “We are committed to ensure that transparency remains at the core of the reconstruction effort,” said Mr. Koirala.

The powerful earthquake on April 25 and a strong aftershock on May 12 killed nearly 9,000 people, injured 23,000 people and damaged more than 5,00,000 buildings leaving hundreds of thousands of people jobless.