14-MEMBER TEAM FOR ACC U-16 ELITE CUP Kathmandu, 26 April: a 14-member squad was announced Wednesday by Cricket Association of Nepal (CAN) for the ACC U-16 Elite Cup to be hosted by Malaysia 4 to 13 May. Deependra Chand will captain the team. Other members are: Aadil Khan, Kali Charan Yadav, Shashi Bhusan Mishra, Nurdhwaj Sen, Jagadish Chand, Akash Bista,Rabin Gupta, Aasif Sekh, Kushal Bhurtel, Rupesh Banstola, Mukunda Yadav, Alfaj Mansoori and Anup Neupane. Nitesh Thakur, Lokesh Jha, Ajay Sahani and Heman Rai are reserves. Manjoor Alam Khan is the coach. Nnnn ADB APPRECIATES EFFORTS TO CONCLUDE PEACE AND CONSTITUTION DRAFTING PROCESSES Kathmandu, 26 April: Asian Development Bank (ADB) has appreciated Nepal’s serious efforts and recent progress towards concluding the peace and constitution drafting process that could be the stepping stone for economic development. “The conclusion of the challenging peace and political transition process will pave the way for the government to focus closely on its economic development and reform agendas to put Nepal on a much faster and sustainable growth path,” ADB’s vice president of operations Zhao Xiaoyu said. He held discussions with Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai Wednesday before concluding his latest Nepal visit. Zhao also appreciated the steady and fast progress in reducing poverty in recent years. He expressed optimism that Nepal would meet a majority of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015 including those on poverty, education, access to clean water supply, and child and maternal mortality. He said ADB is commitment to work closely with Nepal and other stakeholders to help further reduce poverty and promote inclusive growth.. Zhao also sought active participation of the government in formulating ADB’s new Country Partnership Strategy (2013–2017) for Nepal. “ADB would seek to respond to Nepal’s critical development needs, emerging opportunities and priorities,” he said. He stressed need to urgently address infrastructure deficits of power, transport and water, by establishing an enabling policy environment, building capacities, and exploring innovative approaches such as public private partnership. “It will stimulate private sector investment, and create much needed employment opportunities,” he said, underscoring the need for inclusive and sustainable growth for the diverse population. “It is key to expedite implementation of ongoing projects by strengthening institutional capacities and systems, to demonstrate effective aid utilisation and draw increased assistance from development partners including ADB,” Zhao added. ADB’s new director general for South Asia Juan Miranda was introduced to government officials during the visit. nnnn