Finance Minister Barsha Man Pun and vice president of the World Bank for South Asia, Martin Rager, held a meeting on Tuesday.

Rager is in Nepal leading the World Bank Group in the Third International Investment Summit.

On the occasion, they discussed the 21st meeting of WB's International Development Association which is scheduled in Kathmandu from June 18 to June 21.

President of the WB Group, Ajay Banga, would participate in the meeting, according to the finance ministry. The World Bank Vice President said that high-ranking officials of the World Bank would carry out onsite visits of different under-construction projects with WB's investment after the 21st meeting of the IDA.

Finance Minister Pun shared that an arrangement for onsite visit of such projects would be made. He further said preparations were underway for the IDA meeting.

According to Finance Minister Pun, an organizing committee led by Finance Secretary Madhu Kumar Marasini and a Management Coordination Committee under the coordination of the head of the International Economic Cooperation Coordination Division under the finance ministry, Srikrishna Nepal, were formed for the preparation of the meeting and both committees have forwarded activities for the same. Likewise, he said that the ministry has been coordinating with the World Bank Country Office in Kathmandu to make necessary preparations for the meeting.

Representatives of 92 countries including WB President Ajay Banga would participate in the IDA meeting. IDA is the part of the World Bank that helps the world's poorest countries by providing zero-low interest loans and grants for programs that boost economic growth and improve people's living conditions.

The WB Group chose Nepal to organize the IDA meeting as various countries including Nepal had proposed for the same. A meeting of this level of the World Bank Group was not held in Nepal before. The IDA meeting is held every three years. The 20th IDA meeting was organized in Japan from December 14 to December 15, 2021.