EU to fund projects for green inclusive growth
ISLAMABAD - President Pak-British Friendship Council North West Chapter Muhammad Arbab Khan Sunday said the European Union (EU) will fund three new development programmes worth €87 million to support green and inclusive economic growth in Pakistan. Talking to Chairman UK-Pakistan Joint Business Council Mian Kashif Ashfaq, he said the programmes are part of the European Union’s support to Pakistan in post-flood rehabilitation and reconstruction and are designed in close cooperation with the federal and provincial governments. He said these projects will focus on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Gilgit Baltistan (GB), and Balochistan and aims at improving agricultural value chains, providing access to clean energy and enhancing the availability of the skilled labour force. He said they are also part of the broader coordination efforts by the EU and its member states materialised through the Team Europe Initiative and contribute to EU’s Global Gateway, an overarching initiative to link the digital, energy and transport sectors and to strengthen health, education and research systems across the world. Mian Kashif Ashfaq hoped that these plans would contribute toward strengthening socioeconomic indicators, such as the rural economic transformation, provision of cheap energy and imparting much-needed technical training for the youth, he said that the EU support was necessary for providing desired impetus to Pakistan’s green and clean efforts. He said the programmes will enable Pakistan to better utilise the skills of its people and its natural resources, especially given the large-scale devastation caused by the recent floods. He said the EU support comes at a crucial time when country is grappling with an economic crisis and affectees are still struggling with the effects of the terrible floods and it will contribute to economic recovery in the aftermath of the floods and make Pakistan stronger and more resilient.
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