Director General of Asian Development Bank (ADB) for South Asia, Kunio Senga has said that he was encouraged by recent developments in Nepal, particularly progress on peace talks and development activities.

A press release issued by the ADB said, at the end of his three-day visit to Nepal on Friday, Senga said that he was advised that there had been significant progress in the peace dialogue and hoped a lasting resolution would be found to the conflict.

Stating that peace and stability are critical to accelerate economic growth and poverty reduction, Senga said, “Nepal is being left behind by other South Asian countries and is unable to take advantage not only of South Asia’s growth momentum but also its unique location – between India and China, the two fastest growing economies in the world.”

During his three-day visit to Nepal. Senga met with the Finance Minister, Vice-Chairman and members of the National Planning Commission, Chief Secretary, and other senior Government officials and urged the Government to strengthen its portfolio performance.

Senga also met with Lyonpo Chenkyab Dorji, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation Secretary-General, and representatives of other development partners and discussed a wide range of development issues, including ADB’s support for reducing poverty.

Meanwhile, Senga and the Finance Secretary Vidhyadhar Mallik signed a loan agreement for ADB’s Rural Finance Sector Program on Wednesday, which was approved on 26 October.

Senga also participated in the 7th Tourism Working Group Meeting of the South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (SASEC) held on Thursday and Friday.