ISLAMABAD: To support green and inclusive economic growth in Pakistan, Dr Kazim Niaz, Secretary of Economic Affairs Division (EAD) and Dr Riina Kionka, Ambassador of the European Union (EU) on Monday signed agreements for three new development programmes with a funding of Eur 87-million by the European Union.
With a focus on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Balochistan, the new programmes will improve agricultural value chains, provide access to clean energy and enhance availability of the skilled labour force. According to an official press release, the programmes are part of European Union’s support to Pakistan in the post flood rehabilitation and reconstruction.
These three programmes are designed in close cooperation with the federal and provincial governments and are part of the broader coordination efforts by the EU and its member states materialized through the Team Europe Initiative. They also contribute to EU’s Global Gateway, the European strategy to boost smart, clean and secure links in digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world.
Secretary EAD Dr Kazim Niaz expressed gratitude for EU support and said that EU is the most valued development partner to Pakistan as it held a substantial grant portfolio in Pakistan wherein its focus is, in particular, on socioeconomic development of vulnerable communities.
He said clean and green energy is yardstick for any sustainable development, EU support in this particular area is necessary in providing desired impetus to all such efforts by Pakistan”. He expressed his hopes that these three Financing agreements will further contribute towards strengthening socioeconomic indicators, as the rural economic transformation, provision of cheap energy and imparting much needed technical training for the youth can greatly benefit poor communities.
Ambassador Dr Riina Kionka pointed out that Pakistan has a huge potential thanks to its people and natural resources. The programmes we have signed today help to harness that potential by giving Pakistanis the skills to get good jobs, by helping them to use sustainable techniques for agriculture and by providing them access to clean and green energy, he said.