The 3.5 percent growth rate projected for Nepal by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) may be the least among South Asian countries, but after last year's record breaking economic nosedive, the worst in two decades, things may be looking up. The ADB is cautiously optimistic that things will improve if the ceasefire holds and the peace talks are not derailed. It's annual publication, Asian Development Outlook 2003, said Nepal's GDP may pick up by 1.5 percent this year after the negative 0.6 percent downturn.

The industrial sector will see immediate benefits and a 0.2 percent growth, but agriculture and service that had slipped to 2.2 percent and 1.8 percent last year, may take time to recover. Exports fell by 18 percent last year due a decrease in the demand for readymade garments, woolen carpets and pashmina shawls. Imports too had fallen by around 12 percent during the same period.