July 6: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appointed Arnaud Cauchois as the new country director for Nepal.

According to the ADB, Cauchois will lead ADB operations in the country and policy dialogue with the government of Nepal and other development partners. He will oversee the implementation of ADB’s country partnership strategy for Nepal that focuses on the country’s long-term development needs through improved infrastructure for private sector-led growth, improved access to devolved services, and environmental sustainability and resilience, ADB said in a statement issued on July 6.

“ADB has been a long-term development partner of Nepal. I look forward to building on the strong partnership and working closely with the government, development partners, and other stakeholders in supporting Nepal’s development agenda and poverty reduction efforts,” the statement quoted Cauchois as saying.  “My immediate priority will be to support the Government of Nepal as it addresses both the immediate and longer-term health, economic, and social impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.”

In the medium term, Cauchois indicated the need to support the government with the development of integrated solutions by combining expertise across sectors and mixing public and private sector financing. Expansion of private sector operations, as well as green resilient and inclusive projects, will be pursued in close collaboration with the government and development partners, the statement added.

According to ADB, Cauchois has almost 3 decades of professional experience, including over 15 years with ADB. Cauchois, a French national, joined ADB in 2005 as a Rural Development Specialist and has since held numerous leading positions. Prior to this appointment, he served as Principal Water Resources Specialist for India, Nepal, and Sri Lanka and was outposted in ADB’s India Resident Mission. He was also assigned in ADB’s Nepal Resident Mission for 6 years and led the improvement of the water management systems in Nepal.

He holds a master of science degree in water resource management from the Superior School of Tropical Agronomy in Montpellier, France.

Since its establishment in 1966, ADB has provided over $7 billion in financial and technical assistance to Nepal. The assistance was provided in energy, transport, water supply and urban infrastructure services, agriculture and irrigation, and education, the statement added.