Butwal, September 18
The government spokesperson, Foreign Affairs Minister Pradeep Gyawali, has expressed his confidence that the Federal Parliament will endorse the controversial Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) deal signed between Nepal and the United States in 2017.
Gyawali’s statement follows a decision of his Nepal Communist Party’s standing committee to amend it wherever necessary, and forward to the legislative body for its endorsement.
Speaking with journalists at a press meet in Buwal on Friday, Gyawali said some questions raised about the deal would be addressed before endorsing it.
The deal has not been implemented so far as the Federal Parliament has not endorsed the deal, which is an essential requirement for its implementation. The ruling party is largely divided over the issue. While Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli was pressing for its endorsement, another chairman of the party, Pushpa Kamal Dahal, had sought some amendments.
The division was seen when the three-member task force that the party formed to resolve the issue also could not forge consensus while submitting its report in February. Whereas two members–Jhala Nath Khanal and Bhim Rawal–said endorsing the agreement and implementing it without any amendments could be against national interests, the third member, Pradeep Kumar Gyawali, insisted the country could benefit from the grant.
But recently, both the chairmen had reportedly agreed to seek amendments before the House okays it form implementation.
