. A meeting of the Inter-Governmental Financial Council and thematic committee was held at the Ministry of Finance today. The meeting took a 16-point decision.

The meeting of the Inter-Government Financial Council and thematic committees is being held in order to make the financial coordination among the three tiers of government more effective, and to make the federal system of governance successful.

According to the ministry, the meeting was focused on addressing the practical complexities seen in the performance capacity and resource management of the hierarchical governments despite the rule-based system of financial transfer being institutionalized in Nepal.

In the meeting, Finance Minister Dr. The meeting chaired by Dr. Swarnim Wagle was attended by Hon’ble Ministers of Economic Affairs and Planning of all seven provinces, ex-officio and expert members of the Council, Vice-Chairman of National Planning Commission, Acting Chairman of National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission, Finance Secretary, Secretaries of various Ministries, Deputy Governor of Nepal Rastra Bank and other high officials.

Finance Minister Dr. Swarnim Wagle stressed on the need of cooperation and coordination among all three tiers of government for the successful implementation of federalism. He said the federal government has positively taken the genuine demands related to financial handover and autonomy put forth by the finance ministers of the provinces.

Expressing concern over the increasing trend of ‘grant-oriented’ to depend on federal grants due to weak revenue capacity of the lower rung level, Minister Wagle pledged to make the Council result-oriented by ending financial devolution.

The Finance Minister also assured that the government would take concrete policy and legal reforms to make financial transfers more transparent, predictable and just.

Finance ministers and members of the participating provinces expressed the belief that this meeting of the Council would prove to be a turning stone to resolve the policy-level and practical complexities seen in financial transfer and revenue