Kathmandu, Nov. 13 -- After abruptly cancelling a global tender for the printing and supply of 5 million e-passports, the government is now in the final stages of signing an agreement to set up a dedicated security printing press under a government-to-government arrangement with France.

This will probably be the biggest government-to-government deal signed since KP Sharma Oli was elected to office in February 2018.

The total cost of the deal is over 200 million euros, not including the facility printing banknotes, for where the French government will provide a soft loan. Details, including the financial arrangements, interest rate and time frame for repayment of the loan, have yet to be made public, but an announcement is likely this we...