The Asian Development Bank's lending to Nepal is increasing, but its profile remains low. As its influence spreads, will the ADB become as overbearing as the World Bank?
Since bashing multilateral development banks (MDBs) emerged as port over the last ten years or so, the ire of Third World Governments and alternative-development activists has fallen mostly on the World Bank. This is natural, because World Bank and its sister institution the International Monetary Fund, together set the agenda for international development lending to the countries of the South. The other MDBs, because, they mostly follow the agenda set in Washington D.C, have by and large escaped scrutiny even though the impact of their lending might be similar to that of the World Bank´s. These other institutions are the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Inter-American Development Bank and the African Development Bank.
As the world becomes more uni polar and the grip of western powers and Japan over the international economy becomes tighter, the MDB swill doubtless emerge even stronger. With even the giant Indian economy bowing to the dictates of international financial institutions, it is clear that development in Third World countries like Nepal is going to be dictated more by the MDBs and less by United Nations grant-making agencies like the UNDP, FAO, UNIDO and UNICEF.
The ADB sun is on the rise all over developing Asia, and a look at development financing in Nepal shows that its long shadow is falling on the Himalayan slopes as well. In recent years, the ADB has been expanding its core staff in Kathmandu and entering fields, such as power generation, which had so far been the turf of others. Even though it continues to operate in a lower key than the World Bank, the ADB has already has built up a billion dollar-plus Nepal portfolio.