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Nepal’s Transition to Green, Resilient, and Inclusive Development (GRID) for Sustainable Recovery, Growth, and Jobs

September 23, 2021

A High-Level Roundtable on the Road to COP26

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  • In 2021, Nepal adopted the Green, Resilient and Inclusive development (GRID) approach to systematically address the impacts of COVID-19 and Nepal's structural challenges, including slow domestic job creation, a high vulnerability to climate change and environmental degradation, low rates of inclusion, and large infrastructure gaps. 

    The GRID approach involves a fundamental shift in managing risk and development: from simple reactive response mode to a deliberate proactive recovery strategy for long-term green growth, climate action, and sustainable development for all.

    Under the leadership of the Government of Nepal, the GRID approach is supported by development partners who have been convened with the co-leadership of the World Bank and UK FCDO, to align financial and non-financial support.

    Development partners have already committed $3.2 billion in resources and identified up to $4.2 billion in potential future support in GRID relevant sectors.

    Nepal’s GRID approach builds on several strategic initiatives such as Nepal’s Nationally Determined Contribution and its 2020 Relief, Recovery, and Resilience (3R) Plan.

    The high-level GRID roundtable is an important milestone to set the direction and provide insights for the Government to prepare its GRID Strategic Action Plan for the next decade and beyond. The Roundtable is organized by the Government of Nepal, World Bank, and British Embassy Kathmandu. It aims to:

    • Re-confirm, coordinate, and plan for expanding broad financial and non-financial support to Nepal’s GRID objectives.
    • Exchange views on potential priority investments, incentives (markets and policies), institutional actions, and information needed to support Nepal’s GRID transition.
    • Sign the Kathmandu Joint Declaration on GRID.

     

    Speakers and Panelists

     

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    Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi, Chief Secretary, Government of Nepal

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    Mr. Madhu Kumar Marasini, Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of Nepal

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    Dr. Anne Marie Gulde-Wolf, Deputy Director, Asia and Pacific Department, International Monetary Fund
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    Mr. Hartwig Schafer, Vice President, South Asia Region, World Bank
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    Mr. Jean-Louis Ville, Acting Director for Asia, Central Asia, Middle East/Gulf and the Pacific, European Commission
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    Mr. Ken O’Flaherty, Regional Ambassador, Asia Pacific and South Asia at COP26 Climate Summit, UK
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    Mr. Neil Buhne, Regional Director, United Nations Development Coordination Office, Asia-Pacific
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    Dr. Shixin Chen, Vice-President, South Asia Department and the Central and West Asia Department, Asian Development Bank
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    Dr. Nilam Dhungana Timsina, Deputy Governor, Nepal Rastra Bank
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    Dr. Radha Wagle, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Forests and Environment
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    Ms. Sima Kumari Chhetri, Mayor of Putalibazar Municipality
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    Dr. Arnico Panday, Senior Advisor, National Planning Commission
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    Mr. Kushal Gurung, Founder and CEO, Windpower Nepal Pvt. Ltd/Member, Energy Development Council
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    Ms. Sneha Pandey, Climate Policy Analyst, Climate Analytics
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    Mr. Sunil KC, CEO, NMB Bank Limited/Executive Committee Member, Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industries
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    Mr. Sujeev Shakya (Moderator), CEO, Beed Management Pvt. Ltd.

     

    Last Updated: Sep 23, 2021

  • Time

    Agenda Item

    5:34 – 6:07 pm

    Opening Session

    ·      Opening and keynote remarks by Mr. Hartwig Schafer, Vice President, South Asia Region, World Bank, (present in Kathmandu) – setting the stage for discussion.

    ·      Remarks by Dr. Anne-Marie Gulde-Wolf, Deputy Director, Asia and Pacific Department, International Monetary Fund (virtual)

    ·      Remarks by Mr. Jean-Louis Ville, Director Middle East, Asia and Pacific of the Directorate General for International Partnerships, European Commission (virtual)

    ·      Remarks by Mr. Ken O’Flaherty, United Kingdom Regional Ambassador for Asia Pacific and South Asia at COP26 Climate Summit (physically present)

    ·      Remarks by Mr. Neil Buhne, Regional Director, United Nations Development Coordination Office, Asia-Pacific (virtual)

    ·      Remarks by Mr. Shixin Chen, Vice-President, South Asia Department and Central and West Asia Department, Asian Development Bank (virtual)

    6:07 - 6:17 pm

    Presentation by Mr. Madhu Kumar Marasini, Finance Secretary, Government of Nepal 

    Nepal’s Transition to GRID: Vision, Priorities, Actions

    6:18 - 7:15 pm

    Roundtable Discussion

    Discussants:

    1.     Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi, Chief Secretary, Government of Nepal

    2.     Mr. Arnico Panday, Advisor, National Planning Commission

    3.     Mr. Kushal Gurung, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Windpower Nepal Pvt. Ltd./ Member, Energy Development Council

    4.     Ms. Nilam Dhungana Timsina, Deputy Governor, Nepal Rastra Bank

    5.     Ms. Radha Wagle, Division Chief and Joint Secretary, Ministry of Forests and Environment

    6.     Ms. Sima Kumari Chhetri, Mayor, Putalibazar

    7.     Ms. Sneha Pandey, Climate Policy Analyst, Climate Analytics

    8.     Mr. Sunil KC, CEO, NMB Bank Limited/Executive Committee Member, Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industries

    7:16 pm

    Closing remarks by Honorable Mr. Janardan Sharma, Minister of Finance of Nepal

    7:30 pm

    Moderator closes formal session

    7:31 pm

    Signing of the Kathmandu Declaration on GRID

  • Speakers' and Panelists' Profile

    Honorable Mr. Janardan Sharma

    Finance Minister, Government of Nepal

    Mr. Janardan Sharma is the Honorable Finance Minister of Nepal and a three-time parliamentarian. He is a member of the standing committee of the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Center) and started his political career from 1977. He previously served as the Minister of Home Affairs in 2017, Minister of Energy in 2016-2017, and Minister for Peace and Reconstruction in 2008-2009. He was one of the four Deputy Commanders of the People's Liberation Army of Nepal during the insurgency.

    Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi

    Chief Secretary, Government of Nepal

    Mr. Shanker Das Bairagi, appointed as the Chief Secretary of the Government of Nepal in 2020, brings over three decades of experience working as a civil servant. He served as the Foreign Secretary from October 2015 and Acting Foreign Secretary since February 2014. Mr. Bairagi was Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Nepal to the United Nations Office, World Trade Organization, and other International Organizations in Geneva as well as international organizations based in Vienna and Rome from February 2012 to November 2013.

    Mr. Madhu Kumar Marasini

    Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Government of Nepal

    Mr. Madhu Marasini is the Secretary at the Ministry of Finance. Prior to this, he was the Financial Comptroller General. He led the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division (IECCD) of the Ministry of Finance from 2012 to 2016. Prior to this, he worked at the World Bank in Washington DC as an advisor in the Southeast Asia constituency from 2008 to 2010. Mr. Marasini holds a Master’s degree in international and development economics from the Australian National University (ANU), Australia.

    Dr. Anne Marie Gulde-Wolf

    Deputy Director, Asia and Pacific Department, International Monetary Fund

    Dr. Anne Marie Gulde-Wolf is the Deputy Director of the IMF’s Asia and Pacific Department. Prior to this position, she served as the Deputy Director in African Department where she oversaw the department’s work and policy priorities on several Southern and Central African countries, including South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho, and Swaziland, as well as the Central African Economic and Monetary Community. She also served as a senior advisor to the European Department and held different positions in the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department. Ms. Gulde-Wolf holds a PhD in international economics from the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, Switzerland.

    Mr. Hartwig Schafer

    Vice President, South Asia Region, World Bank

    Mr. Hartwig Schafer Vice President for the South Asia Region since July, 2018, he managesthe World Bank’s engagement in South Asia to end extreme poverty and boost shared prosperity. He leads relations with all SAARC countries. He manages a portfolio of financial support worth more than US$50 billion. Before joining the region, he served as the Vice President for Global Themes where he oversaw the World Bank’s engagement in corporate priority areas of Fragility, Conflict, and Violence; Gender; Infrastructure, Public-Private Partnerships, Guarantees; Climate Change Finance; and Knowledge Management. He led several key reforms, including the rollout of the Bank’s new policies on procurement, environmental and social safeguards, and innovation of the Bank’s lending and knowledge instruments. He has held technical and managerial positions in the World Bank as well as the European Commission for almost 30 years. His academic background is in Economics (PhD) and Agricultural Economics.

    Mr. Jean-Louis Ville

    Acting Director for Asia, Central Asia, Middle East/Gulf and the Pacific, European Commission

    Mr. Jean-Louis Ville is the acting Director for Asia, Central Asia, Middle East/Gulf and the Pacific at the European Commission in the Directorate General for International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO). Previously, he served as the Acting Director for Human Development and Migration in DG DEVCO as well as Head of Unit, in charge of Human Rights, Gender, and Democratic Governance at the European Commission. Mr. Ville has been working with the European Commission since 1987 and has occupied several positions in various Directorate General (Agriculture, Budget and Development and Cooperation) as Head of Unit for Budget, Finance and Contracts, Regional Programs for the East and South Neighborhood. He also served as the Deputy Head of the private office of the Rt Hon C. PATTEN during his mandate as European Commissioner for External Relations.

    Mr. Ken O’Flaherty

    Regional Ambassador, Asia Pacific and South Asia at COP26 Climate Summit, UK

    Mr. Ken O’Flaherty was appointed the UK Government’s COP26 Regional Ambassador to Asia-Pacific and South Asia in March 2020. He has recently returned from a posting as Minister in Rome, and has experience in a number of Foreign Office Departments. He has previously served in the British Embassy in Tokyo and Paris as well as the former UK Representation to the European Union. He has worked on a wide range of issues from climate change and energy to economic, EU cooperation, security, counter-terrorism and migration issues.

    Mr. Neil Buhne

    Regional Director, United Nations Development Coordination Office, Asia-Pacific

    Mr. Neil Buhne is the Regional Director, Asia- Pacific, at the UN Development Coordination Office. He has served in the United Nations as Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in three countries for 12 years, since joining the United Nations 25 years ago. From 2007 until February 2011, he served as Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative in Sri Lanka. Prior to this he spent many years in Asia, as UNDP Deputy Representative in Malaysia (and acting RC/RR for 20 months) from 1995 to 1999, UNDP Assistant Resident Representative in Pakistan from 1990 to 1995 and Programme Officer in UNDP Bhutan. Mr. Buhne’s special professional interest lies in crisis prevention and recovery - and how climate change affects both man-made crisis and natural disasters.

    Dr. Shixin Chen

    Vice-President, South Asia Department and the Central and West Asia Department, Asian Development Bank

    Dr. Shixin Chen, in his most recent appointment, leads the Department of International Economic and Financial Cooperation at the Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Since 1998, Dr. Chen has held senior positions in the Ministry of Finance, overseeing areas of public finance and partnerships with multilateral development banks. He was World Bank’s Executive Director for the PRC from 2013 to 2016 and has been a Board Director for the PRC in the New Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank since 2016. From 2012 to 2014, he was a Board Director in the Credit Guarantee and Investment Facility. Mr. Chen holds a doctorate in Economics from the Graduate School of the Research, Institute for Fiscal Science

    Dr. Nilam Dhungana Timsina

    Deputy Governor, Nepal Rastra Bank

    Dr. Nilam Dhungana Timsina appointed as the Deputy Governor since March 2021, is also a Board Member of Social Security Fund of Nepal. Prior to her appointment, Dr. Timsina served as the Executive Director of the Public Debt Management Department of Nepal Rastra Bank and was concurrently the Chairperson of the Board of Directors of the Credit Information Bureau of Nepal. During her career as a central banker spanning more than two decades, she gained significant experiences in different functions of central banking. She holds a doctorate in management from Mewar University, India

    Dr. Radha Wagle

    Joint Secretary, Ministry of Forests and Environment

    Dr. Radha Wagle is the Joint Secretary and Chief of Climate Change Management in the Ministry of Forests and Environment. Prior to this, she served as a Secretary for Ministry of Industry, Tourism, Forests and Environment in Lumbini Province. She also served as the Chief of Central Forestry Training Center and REDD Implementation Center. Along with her responsibility under the Ministry, she is currently serving as a National Gender and Climate Change Focal Person and National Focal Person for UNFCCC and National Focal person for IPCC. Dr. Wagle has over 20 years of experience in the field of Community Forestry, REDD+ and Sustainable Forest Management, Protected Area Management and Biodiversity Conservation, Climate Change; Gender Integration and Women Empowerment in forestry and climate change. Dr. Wagle holds a PhD Degree from Monash University, Australia in Gender and Forestry and Masters’ Degree from Swedish Agricultural University (SLU), Sweden with a major in Environmental Science

    Ms. Sima Kumari Chhetri

    Mayor of Putalibazar Municipality

    Ms. Sima Kumari Chhetri is the Mayor of Putalibazar Municipality, Shyangja. Previously, she has held positions of Vice Chair of National Teachers’ Organization (Nepal Rashtriya Shikshyak Sangathan); Central Member of All Nepali Women’s Organization (Akhil Nepali Mahila Sangh); Member of District Children’s Welfare Committee (Jilla Balbalika Kalyan Samiti); Member of the Nepali Communist Provincial Committee (Nekapa Emale Pradesh Kamiti). Ms. Chhetri has been actively involved in environmental conservation activities of the community with the establishment of Cleanliness Centre, implementation of hygiene programs; practice of plantation programs; establishment of biogas programs and announcement of the municipality as the super zone for oranges

    Dr. Arnico Panday

    Senior Advisor, National Planning Commission

    Dr. Arnico Panday is an atmospheric scientist with long experience working on the interface between science and policy of climate change, air pollution and sustainable development. He recently joined the Government of Nepal’s National Planning Commission as an unpaid Senior Advisor. He continues to serve as the CEO of Ullens Education Foundation, where he leads efforts to establish a new college that will integrate liberal arts with science and technology on a campus showcasing sustainable design. He is a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute for Integrated Development Studies (IIDS) and an Advisory Board Member at Nepal Economic Forum. Until January 2020, Arnico was the Regional Programme Manager of the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD)’s Atmosphere Programme. He has served on the Steering Committee of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) and as an advisor to other organizations based in Japan, Philippines, Hong Kong, Thailand, Rwanda and Nepal. He has a doctorate in Atmospheric Science from MIT, a Masters in Land Resources from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Bachelors in Environmental Science and Public Policy from Harvard University.

    Mr. Kushal Gurung

    Founder and CEO, Windpower Nepal Pvt. Ltd/Member, Energy Development Council

    Mr. Kushal Gurung is a low carbon professional, with over 15 years of experience, spanning across Europe and Asia. He is the founder and CEO of WindPower Nepal; a company whose motto is to transform lives through sustainable solutions, such as renewable energy technologies to hydroponics. He is also a co-founder and Director of Gandaki Urja, a waste to energy company that can process up to 45 tonnes of organic waste daily to produce bottled compressed Biogas and organic fertilizer. He is an Asia 21 Young Leaders of 2017 and has MSc in Carbon Management from the University of Edinburgh and MSc in Environmental Science from Tribhuvan University. He has been recognized by the University of Edinburgh Business School as one of the best 100 Alumini in the last 100 years. Mr. Gurung is also an Expert Member of the Government of Nepal’s Environment Protection Council.

    Ms. Sneha Pandey

    Climate Policy Analyst, Climate Analytics

    Ms. Sneha Pandey is a Climate Policy Analyst at Climate Analytics, where she currently supports projects related to the 2020 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) formulation and implementation in Nepal. She is also a member of the LDC Support Team at Climate Analytics where she provides technical support to Least Developed Countries (LDC) Group in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations. Ms. Pandey was a Research Fellow at the Government of Nepal’s Sagarmatha Sambaad. In the past, she has worked on various climate change- and sustainability-related projects in Nepal, USA and Rwanda.

    Mr. Sunil KC

    CEO, NMB Bank Limited/Executive Committee Member, Federation of Nepal Chamber of Commerce and Industries

    Mr. Sunil KC was appointed as Chief Executive Officer of NMB Bank in March 2017, a joint venture with FMO Netherlands is one the largest A Class commercial Banks in Nepal. Before that, he was Deputy CEO of the Bank from 2010. He holds 30 plus years of banking experience. In 1990, Mr. KC started his banking career from ANZ Grindlays Bank, Nepal and after that he held positions of increasing responsibilities in ANZ Grindlays and Standard Chartered Bank. Under his leadership, NMB Bank has been able to position itself as the top quartile bank of Nepal and the front runner in sustainable banking. The bank under his four-year leadership has been awarded by The Financial Times London as the best bank of Nepal for the year 2017, 2018 & 2020.

    Mr. Sujeev Shakya (Moderator)

    CEO, Beed Management Pvt. Ltd.

    Mr. Sujeev Shakya is the Founder CEO of beed Management, an international management consulting and financial advisory firm that has worked in Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao, Myanmar, Nepal, Rwanda, and the United States. Mr. Shakya leverages over 25 years of experience in diverse fields and geographies to advise, lead, and inspire. With comprehensive networks in Nepal’s public, private, civil, and diplomatic sectors, he is a trusted business and policy advisor and a respected strategic thinker. Mr. Shakya serves as Chair of Nepal Economic Forum, Nepal’s premier private sector-led think-tank, and as Senior Advisor to Bower Group Asia, a Washington DC based advisory firm.

Event Details

  • Date : 23 September, 2021
  • Time : 5:30 pm-7.30 pm (Nepal Standard Time)
  • Location: Marriott Hotel Kathmandu + Virtual
  • The event is by invitation only : The event will observe full COVID-19 safety protocols
  • CONTACT: World Bank Nepal Country Office 
  • INFONEPAL@worldbank.org

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