Wahab for increased Pak-Austria cooperation in education, other sectors

The consul general of Austria, Andrea Wicke, along with Commercial Consul Dr Johannes Brunner and PM Task Force for Strategic Reforms Unit Chairman Hussain Islam called on Karachi Mayor Barrister Murtaza Wahab at his office on Monday.

The delegation was welcomed at the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation (KMC) head office.

Wahab informed the Austrian consul general about the history of the KMC’s City Council. He said Pakistan and Austria could increase cooperation in the fields of infrastructure development, education and research, and both countries could learn from each other's experiences and ensure better facilities for their citizens.

He added that Austria could provide assistance to students from Pakistan in education and other fields. “German language is spoken in Austria and we can help the youth learn it so that they can have opportunities to make a better future in Austria,” he said. The mayor said Karachi's economic situation and infrastructure were not major challenges and many problems could be solved if people paid taxes.

“My doors are always open to all people to solve public problems. In this regard, the current administration has adopted an open-door policy to increase public relations and solve all the problems of the city as soon as possible,” he said, adding that the biggest problem of Karachi was the supply of drinking water as 50 per cent of the water was wasted due to leakage in the lines.

Wahab explained that work was under way on two new projects to supply water to different districts of the city and an additional 80 million gallons of water per day would be available to Karachi from those projects.

He said the city administration was also solving the transport problems on a priority basis. Karachi currently needed 2,000 buses, and 300 new buses were being added for the citizens, he added.

The mayor informed the Austrian diplomats that there were attractive opportunities for foreign investment in Sindh, including Karachi, which Austrian investors could take advantage of.