Canadian agency to stop work in Nepal

KATHMANDU, FEB 06 -

The Canadian Cooperation Office, established in 1987, has decided to wind down its Nepal-based operations.

“The Government of Canada decided to wind down its direct country-to-country bilateral development assistance for Nepal on February 28, 2013. This decision is part of a Deficit Reduction Action Plan announced in the Government of Canada ’s 2012 budget,” said the Canadian Cooperation Office in a statement.

The purpose of the Deficit Reduction Action Plan was to make government operations more efficient and achieve greater effectiveness in the government’s programmes and services, said the statement, adding that based on these factors, Canada has decided to scale down its direct bilateral development assistance in a number of countries.

Although no further bilateral programmes will be undertaken, Nepal will remain eligible for Canadian assistance through multilateral organisations and Canadian NGOs.

Canada ’s New Delhi-based mission will look after Nepal affairs. “When a bilateral agency shuts down its office, we cannot expect the same level of assistance. This will definitely hamper future Canadian assistance to Nepal,” said a senior government official.