Germany pledges Rs3.9bln in assistance

ISLAMABAD: Germany on Thursday pledged technical assistance worth Euro 23.4 million to support vocational training reforms and social protection and local governance programs in Pakistan.

Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar witnessed the signing ceremony of technical cooperation agreement with Germany. Economic Affairs Division Secretary Noor Ahmed and Bernhard Stephan Schlagheck, the Ambassador of Germany to Pakistan signed an agreement for technical assistance under the Pakistan-Germany Development Program worth Euro 23.4 million, equivalent to Rs3.9 billion.

“Technical assistance will be extended to projects in the area of social protection, technical and vocational education, support for local governance and improvement of labour and social standard in Pakistan’s textile industry,” the finance ministry said in a statement. “These schemes are in line with the priority areas of the government of Pakistan and are geared towards impacting lives of the common people.”

Minister Azhar thanked the German government for the grant assistance especially in priority areas highlighted by Pakistan. “Technical assistance from Germany must be used for maximum benefit of the people of Pakistan thus, all out measures should be taken to make cost effective expenditure with greater reliance on using local resources,” he said. “Government of Pakistan honours and appreciates technical cooperation from the government of federal republic of Germany and looks forward to strengthening bilateral relations in future.”

Development cooperation between Pakistan and Germany dates back to 1961, with the funding volume to date totaling more than Euro 3 billion.

The contracting parties emphasised cordial relations between the two countries and looked forward to strengthening their cooperation. Both sides highlighted the importance of actively collaborating in finalisation of project objectives to ensure that concerns of the end beneficiaries were addressed.