International donors have pledged to help revolt-torn Nepal with its fight against poverty and plans to revive its economy, battered by a bloody Maoist rebellion and a global slowdown. Officials from 23 donor countries and global relief agencies at a key international aid conference said they would help Nepal bridge its resource gap to meet its goal of cutting the number of poor to 30 percent of its 23 million people by 2007. At present, 38 percent of Nepalis live in poverty.

But the impoverished Himalayan kingdom would still fall short by $2.5 billion over the five-year period.
Finance Minister Ram Sharan Mahat told reporters the level of donor support would depend on the government's commitment to economic reforms and their effective implementation.
International donors, who pledged $1.3 billion to Nepal at a similar meeting in Paris two years ago, have said they were unhappy at the pace of economic reforms initiated in the 1990s. Bureau Report