Gyanchandra Acharya, Foreign Secretary of Nepal, and Deputy Secretary General Atle Leikvoll, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway, signed the MoU in the presence of Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and Norway’s Minister for Environment and International Development Erik Solheim. Solheim was involved in Nepal’s peace process and was instrumental in bringing the Maoists to the mainstream.

The MoU, which replaces the old MoU signed in 1996, states that the cooperation between the two countries will contribute to building peace and democracy and enhance constitutional processes, rule of law and human rights, with due emphasis on gender equality and youth and the inclusion of marginalised groups, including indigenous peoples and sexual minorities.

The cooperation will contribute to efficient and effective implementation of Nepal’s School Sector Reforms Programme, with special emphasis on gender, inclusion of disadvantaged groups and quality of service delivery.
The cooperation will focus on hydropower development and rural electrification for economic growth. Emphasis will be placed on environmental management.

Norway will provide assistance through programme and budgetary support.
Norway may identify and respond to additional requests by Nepal for the assistance related to the ongoing political transformation process where Norway has a comparative advantage. The cooperation may include support for facilitating private sector development through public- private partnership. Norway will support Nepal and the UN in their efforts at implementing UN reforms in the country.

Norway will actively support Nepal’s efforts to coordinate and harmonise donor support, in accordance with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness.

The MoU adds that Norway will align its overall support with Nepal’s development strategies.

On an annual basis, Norway will provide information on planned allocations and actual disbursement to the recipients of country-level assistance, including support to non-government organisations, private enterprises, institutions and multilateral organisations.

Norway’s allocation of assistance to Nepal is subject to the annual allocation made by Norwegian parliament. Nepal will receive assistance from regional and global funds, including support for the private sectors, NGOs, and multilateral organisations and technical assistance in specific areas. This development cooperation of MoU covers the period of 2009-2011 and defines the overall framework and priorities for the cooperation between Nepal and Norway.

At the end of signing the MoU, Solheim said Nepal’s home-grown peace process is moving in the right direction. He said Norway was willing to cooperate with Nepal on energy, education and social sector.

“It’s great pleasure for me to receive Prachanda here as Nepal’s elected PM,” Solheim said, adding that he used to call him via cell phone when Prachanda was hiding in jungle. Nepal’s peace process is a complex one and it needs to be handled with care, he said. He thanked Prachanda and other political parties of Nepal for successfully bringing the complex peace process to this stage.

Arjun Bhandari/Oslo, March 30:

Meanwhile, Siraha chapter of the Nepal Students’ Union padlocked the Nepal Electricity Authority  office in the district for two hours as part of its protest against the increasing load-shedding hours.