Kathmandu, March 06 (HS): Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Vishnu Paudel has said that efforts are underway to remove Nepal from the ‘grey list’ of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) before the two-year period. The government is committed to completing the necessary tasks within the specified time frame.

Responding to the questions of MPs in the House of Representatives on Thursday, Paudel said that the current government is not responsible for the FATF grey listing. He said that the country was not placed on the grey list due to the current government.

The Finance Minister has talked about presenting a white paper in the House in this matter. He has said that the Maoists are the main responsible for this. When the MPs asked whether the grey list will have a negative impact on the international financial assistance received by Nepal, he said that the Nepal government is in constant touch with the representatives of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank, International Monetary Fund to avoid any such situation.

At present, preparations for the general budget are going on in Nepal. After the US stopped all types of financial assistance, Nepal’s inclusion in the grey list has increased the difficulties of the government. Nepal is dependent on external financial assistance in the fields of education, health, large-scale construction, agriculture etc.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar