KATHMANDU: The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has clarified that the “MCC has no hidden agenda”.
Writing a letter today addressing to the Minister of Finance, Janardan Sharma, MCC Vice President Fatema Z. Sumar has said that there has been an increase of false and misleading statements about MCC.
The Ministry of Finance wrote a letter on September 3, 2021 to MCC requesting clarifications on the MCC Nepal Compact about some deemed controversial arrangements. The ministry had sent 11 questions under various title and sub-title.
The MCC has clarified that there is no connection between the MCC Nepal compact and any military alliance or defense strategy.
“All MCC compacts are international agreements. During compact development, MCC asks each partner government what their country’s domestic law requires in order for the compact to have the status of an international agreement that will avoid any specific conflicts with domestic law. For Nepal, the Government, through Nepal’s Ministry Law, concluded that, under Nepali law, parliamentary ratification is required for the compact to be such an international agreement,” the response says.
The MCC has clarified that “the signed MCC Nepal Compact cannot be amended at this time.”
Responding a query about the MCC as Indo-Pacific Strategy, the MCC clarified as “the MCC Nepal Compact is not an agreement under the Indo-Pacific Strategy. MCC compacts are agreements between MCC and the partner government.”
Regarding intellectual property, MCC has said, “The Government of Nepal owns all intellectual property created in connection with the compact program. MCC has no ownership right to any such intellectual property.”
Likewise, Nepal’s Auditor General can conduct audits of MCA-Nepal and has, in fact, already done so.
