This Staff Report was prepared by a staff team of the IMF for the Executive Board’s consideration on March 17, 2020 on a lapse-of-time basis. The staff report reflects discussions with the Nepali authorities in Kathmandu during January 5-17, 2020 and is based on the information available as of end-January 2020. It focuses on Nepal’s near and medium-term challenges and policy priorities and was prepared before COVID-19 became a global pandemic and resulted in unprecedented strains in global trade, commodity and financial markets. The report, therefore, does not reflect the implications of these developments and related policy priorities. The outbreak has greatly amplified uncertainty and downside risks around the outlook. Staff is closely monitoring the situation and will continue to work on assessing its impact and the related policy response in Nepal and globally.