Norwegian Embassy extends additional support to strengthen Nepal’s parliamentary system

The Royal Norwegian Embassy in Nepal and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Nepal have signed an agreement for an additional funding to the ongoing Parliament Support Project of UNDP Nepal.

In the presence of Secretary General of Federal Parliament, Bharat Raj Gautam, Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal, H. E. Ms. Torun Dramdal and Resident Representative of UNDP Nepal, Ms. Ayshanie Medagangoda-Labé singed the addendum agreement for the extension of Norwegian funding to UNDP Nepal until the end of December 2022 amidst a function organized in Lalitpur on Friday.

“UNDP is privileged to continue the trusted partnership and triangular cooperation with Nepal’s Parliament and the long-term partnership with Kingdom of Norway in strengthening of the key governance institutions including the parliaments in Nepal. Parliament is the place for the representation of people’s diverse voice, debate, regulate and oversight..be it in health, climate change, human rights or poverty alleviation.”said Resident Representative of UNDP Nepal, Ms. Medagangoda-Labé.

“Norway supporting parliaments and their secretariats to strengthen their parliamentary functions as part of contributing to implementation of Constitution of Nepal and institutionalization of federalism” said Norwegian Ambassador to Nepal, H. E. Ms. Torun Dramdal, adding, “This additional funding is expected to further contribute to strengthening capacities of the parliaments in enhancing parliamentary accountability.”

The Norwegian Embassy in Nepal has been supporting UNDP Nepal for implementation and institutionalization of federalism through the parliaments since 2015. UNDP Nepal has been implementing the second phase of Parliament Support Project (2018-2022) with support from Norwegian Embassy since January 2018. This project is a part of our support to good governance, Norway has provided 4 million Norwegian kroner (Approximately US$ 460,000) additional funding to UNDP. Earlier in 2018, Norway provided 24 million Norwegian kroner (US$ 2.8 million) for the programme.

Parliament Support Project has been supporting the building of the parliament’s strength in institutional reforms, lawmaking, oversight, and outreach. This includes enhancing capacities of members of parliament and supporting parliamentary committees in lawmaking functions by making available expert reviews of and organizing public consultations on bills and conducting oversight missions. It supports the parliament secretariats to strengthen their capacities in providing their support to the member of parliaments and parliamentary committees. The project also provides opportunities to the people from marginalized groups, women, and youth to raise their concerns in the parliament.