A visiting senior US official has urged Nepal to pursue ‘a new model of development’ whereby it puts in a proper policy framework while the development partners assist the effort.

“We believe strongly that the days when the World Bank or USAID and other development partners simply paid for large infrastructure projects are over,” said Dr Rajiv Shah before completing his two-day Nepal visit on Wednesday evening. “There is a new model of development that needs to be pursued in which countries themselves create a plan for the future.”

Dr Shah, who heads the US development agency, USAID, is the senior most American official to visit Nepal since then-Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Kathmandu in 2002 to rally international support against terrorism after the 9/11 attacks.

In an interview with the Post, Dr Shah said it was an important time to visit Nepal with the new government in place and that the decisions it now makes would have a far-reaching impact on the Nepali economy and the lives of the people. The USAID Administrator urged the Nepal government for policies that encourage private investment, and improve the underperforming agriculture and energy sectors.

“The government has a unique opportunity to establish a vision for economic growth and development. They can help end Nepal’s extreme poverty, solve Nepal’s energy crisis and double or triple Nepal’s food production,” he said. “The world is watching to see how aggressive this new government would be in seizing this opportunity. I am making this visit now because now is an urgent and special moment.”

During his visit, Shah announced a $110 million assistance in support of five projects, with the largest one being the $70 million Community Resilience Program, which integrates disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation into an expansion of USAID’s food and nutrition security efforts.

“Partners like the US will bring all of our tools and capabilities including our own companies and capacities to invest in Nepal’s future,” he said. However, it is Nepal’s government that has to make the “right decision about pursuing certain types of reforms.” A five-year, $20 million, support will fund the National Early Grade Reading Program, under the Ministry of Education. This project aims at improving the reading skills of more than one million children in grades 1 to 3 in 20 districts.

Innovative Early Warning Flooding System will see installation of gauges along flood prone rivers and share data in real time with district authorities with the use of SMSes and emails.

“My biggest single takeaway [from the Nepali visit] is that whether the members of government or leaders of private sector, everyone is looking right now to the new government to see how able it will be to prioritise economic development and growth,” Shah said in the interview. “The decision the government makes in the next few weeks to months will show its seriousness and determination.”