MCC is not a loan but a grant, it will be passed: PM Deuba

KATHMANDU: NOV. 4 – Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba has said that the US Assistance Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) will be passed by the parliament after completing the process. Talking to reporters at Tribhuvan International Airport this morning, he said that the MCC was not a loan but a grant and that it would be taken forward after completing the process.

Prime Minister Deuba has urged the MCC not to panic. Asked by reporters, Deuba said, “By consensus, we will pass the MCC. The parliamentary session has been closed for another reason. I have said that there is no need to panic.”

Alexia Latortue, Deputy CEO of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in the UK, met Prime Minister Deuba and discussed the MCC Compact grant provided to Nepal. Earlier, the MCC had issued a statement stating that it was now up to Nepal to move the agreement forward or not. The MCC headquarters expressed frustration that the parliamentary session ended without ratifying the MCC agreement.

In another context, Deuba indicated that the five-party ruling coalition would continue till the next election. “The alliance lasts forever. There is no doubt about the alliance, ‘he said.

Deuba returned from the United Kingdom to attend a two-day summit of world leaders under the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow, United Kingdom.