Rajendra Mishra, Secretary of Agriculture and Livestock, Reehana Raza, Regional Director of Asia Pacific Regional Office and Roshan Cooke, IFAD-Nepal jointly inaugurated the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD Country Office (ICO)) in Nepal at a function on Thursday.

In his brief message, Secretary Mishra said that launching of ICO with a big space indicted that IFAD will provide more support for Nepal's development. "This is a historic day for Nepal."

In his brief opening remarks, IFAD's Country Director for Nepal and Bhutan narrated the engagement in Nepal from small spaces. "Now we have a large space to work comfortably and oversee large programs.

He said that the official inauguration of International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) country office presents its compliments to the government of Nepal.

Prior to the inauguration of the new office, a Stakeholder Consultation for the Mid-Term Review of Nepal Country Strategic Opportunities Program (COSOP) was concluded with the participation of stakeholders from different sectors including government, NGOs, private sector and media.

During the Mid Term Review (MTR) of the Country Strategic Opportunities Program (COSOP, 2021 -2026), Prakash Bastola presented the ASDP project and its progress.

Similarly, Santosh Vaidya Tamang presented the progress and highlights of the recently concluded PRSP/Samriddhi project. Babukaji Thapa presented the status of VITA project.

Karim Hussien presented the highlights of COSCOP MTR and highlighted various aspects of it. During the open session, the participants shared their views on the presentation.

He said that the COSOP focuses on strategic objectives aimed at accelerating inclusive and sustainable rural economic growth and recovery; enhancing the resilience of rural communities to the impacts of climate change, economic and other shocks; and strengthening rural and community institutions to effectively meet development needs under federalism.

According to the organizers, the purpose of the MTR is to present the status of implementation of the COSOP at the mid-term and assess whether the strategy is still relevant in terms of supporting the country to meet its SDG commitments; achieving the country's food and nutrition security and national development goal.

It also addresses climate change resilience, youth inclusion, improved nutrition and gender transformation, including recovery from the COVID19 pandemic.

Earlier, Reehana Raza, IFAD's Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, delivered opening remarks. Roshan Cooke closed the session.