Kathmandu: H.E. Rob Fenn, the British Ambassador to Nepal, has said that the UK will stand with Nepal in its relief efforts and to help Nepal to build back better.
Addressing a programme to launch the book State and Craft: Readings on the 1923 Nepal-Britain Friendship Treaty, edited by Tika Prasad Dhakal, in Kathmandu on September 10, the British Ambassador expressed all-out solidarity with Nepal and the Nepali people at this hour of national tragedy. “My thoughts, and the thoughts of everyone in the UK, are with the people and government of Nepal, and with the families of the victims from wherever they came,” the Ambassador said adding that the UK’s solidarity for Nepal is heartfelt and sincere. “From His Majesty the King to the Prime Minister and the Foreign Secretary, to ordinary British citizens, we all stand with Nepal at this difficult time,” he said.
Recalling the instant support of five million pounds offered by Any Burnham, UK’s new PM, he said that since 2010, UK has invested 200 million pounds in Nepal’s disaster preparedness and climate adaption. He further said that Resilience, Adaptation and Inclusion in Nepal (RAIN) programme has facilitated Nepal’s access to the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD).
“We will pivot our Investment and Expertise Partnership (IEP) and help Nepal ‘Build Back Better’ for the future and for humankind,” the British ambassador announced.
While stating that the coming months could be challenging for Nepal as it recovers from the floods and rebuilds, he said the UK’s most powerful contribution will be to help Nepal position itself as a pioneer of ways to adapt to cascading climate risks in which the whole world has a stake.
He said that UK will continue to support Nepal through grant-based climate finance instruments, such as the Green Climate Fund and the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage. “Especially, given the scale of Nepal’s financing needs, through concessional finance from the multilateral development banks.”
He said that the UK will support Nepal at the UN General Assembly and at the World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok. “We will be your travelling companion on this new steep road too,” he said.
