The United States has said that MCC grants are not always available to Nepal

Kathmandu. The United States has said that the US Agency for International Development (MCC) grant money will not always be available to Nepal.

Stating that the US is aware of the fact that the MCC has not yet been ratified by the Parliament of Nepal, the US Embassy in Kathmandu said that it is up to Nepal to decide whether to accept the grant or not.

The embassy said, "Accepting this grant is a matter of choice for Nepal, but the availability of funds under it is not always open." In order to ensure the continuity of the program, concrete, close steps are needed in Nepal. '

The MCC agreement registered in the House of Representatives of Nepal was to be passed within 30 days. But due to disputes within the ruling Communist Party of Nepal (CPN), there has been no discussion in the parliament.

MCC is one of the agenda of the ongoing standing committee meeting of the CPN (Maoist). Though Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli is in favor of approving the MCC, another leader Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda and senior leader Madhav Kumar Nepal are in favor of moving ahead as per the report of the task force led by senior leader Jhala Nath Khanal. The task force has given its opinion that the MCC agreement can be ratified only by making amendments.

The US embassy reiterated that parliamentary approval of the agreement was the first step in securing a करोड 500 million grant.

Stating that the MCC grant has helped lift millions of people out of poverty by stimulating investment and economic development, the US embassy claimed that it has also supported the sovereignty of the MCC partner country.

‘Each country eligible for the grant has even requested a second grant. The MCC's transparency as a development partner is well-known around the world, and this year the SCC has once again been ranked as one of the top bilateral donors in the Ad Transparency Index.

The Government of Nepal and the MCC have been working together since 2012 to bring the MCC agreement to this stage, and its project will help reduce poverty through economic growth, the US Embassy said in a statement.