H.E. Mr. Dan Stav, Ambassador of Israel and Mr. Yogeswor Pant, General Manager of ADBL, exchanging MoU between MASHAV and ADBL (20.08.2008)
The Centre for International Cooperation (MASHAV) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Israel and the Agricultural Development Bank Ltd. (ADBL) of Nepal signed today (20.08.2008) a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for three years to enhance cooperation between the two organizations.
The agreement to this effect was signed by H.E. Mr. Dan Stav, Ambassador of Israel to Nepal and Mr. Yogeswor Pant, General Manager of ADBL on behalf of MASHAV and ADBL, respectively.
The MoU between MASHAV and ADBL aims at providing a basis for cooperation to enhance institutional efficiency and human resource development in order to render banking services to rural sector. “Providing banking services to rural people and entrepreneurs will ensure the financial viability and sustainability of ADBL in reducing the incidence of poverty of the country,” reads a joint press release issued by MASHAV, the Embassy of Israel and ADBL.
MASHAV and ADBL believe that the cooperation between the two organizations will support rural and agricultural development.
Speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Israeli Ambassador Stav expressed the hope that Nepal would benefit from the cooperation program in terms of capacity building, human resources development, knowledge, and technology transfer.
He said that the promotion of the agricultural sector was crucial for the economic growth of Nepal.
“We are ready to share our knowledge and experience with Nepal. I hope that the cooperation program with the technical assistance will be proved to be fruitful in the coming three years to expedite the agricultural sector,” he said.
Appreciating the continued support of Israel to Nepal, ADBL’s General Manager Pant said that the mutual cooperation between the two organizations would be helpful in enhancing human resources development and strengthen institutional efficiency of ADBL.
He said that the MoU would facilitate Nepalese entrepreneurs and farmers with the technology and knowledge of Israel. He stressed the need for imparting training for the ADBL staff members in areas of marketing, production, commercialization and technology transfer in the agricultural sector would be beneficial.
He further said that all regional areas of Nepal were rich because of diverse products, including tea, coffee, floriculture and other commodities. But the potential has not been tapped effectively due to lack of marketing and production strategies. He believed that the future cooperation agreement in irrigation, farming, marketing strategy would support rural and urban agricultural development.
Nepal being one of the closest friends of Israel has been the recipient of MASHAV’s various training programs. Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Nepal and Israel, MASHAV has been cooperating with the government of Nepal, NGOs and INGOs in Nepal in human resource development and sharing technological know-how in various fields and has trained over 1300 Nepalese professionals in Israel and conducted several dozens of on-the-spot courses in Nepal.
Since its establishment in 1968, the Agricultural Development Bank Limited of Nepal (ADBL) has been playing an instrumental role in reducing rural poverty through its various people centered programs. The ADBL has been committed to deliver banking and financial services capitalizing on its extensive network with particular reference to the development of the rural economy of Nepal.
In recent years, the ADBL and MASHAV have jointly conducted several on-the-spot training programs in Nepal and study visits and tailor made programs for the executives and staff of ADBL in Israel. After this MoU, ADBL plans to include its clients/farmers/entrepreneurs in the training and study visit programs in Israel to strengthen their capability and also replicate the technology in Nepal with some modification.
:sources
