Stable, prosperous Pakistan crucial for world peace, development, says USAID chief

SUKKUR: The Mission Director of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to Pakistan, John P. Groarke, has said that a stable and prosperous Pakistan is crucial for peace and development in the region and the world at large. The USAID is committed to have a longlasting relationship to leverage economic development in Pakistan through applied research in the energy, water, agriculture and food security sectors.
He said this while laying the foundation-stone of the US-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Water (USPCAS-W) building at the Institute of Water Resources Engineering & Management at the Mehran University of Engineering & Technology (MUET), Jamshoro.
Groarke said USAID and the Government of Pakistan through the Higher Education Commission (HEC) had joined hands to create state-of-the-art centres for advanced studies and by launching these centres USAID paved the way for economic development by strengthening universities and encouraging applied research.
“This project is another example of the long-term commitment of the United States to helping Pakistan address its development priorities,” said the USAID mission director. “This facility will help address Pakistan’s urgent needs for improved access to water,” he added.
Groarke also appreciated the efforts of the MUET in enforcing the Gender Equity Plan (GEP) in other institutes of the university.
On this occasion, the Vice Chancellor of MUET, Prof. Dr Mohammad Aslam Uqaili, said that USPCAS-W MUET would emerge as a world class education and applied water research centre dedicated to resolving water crisis in Pakistan through applied research, developing specialist human resources and technologies; academia-industry collaboration and policy formulation. He also thanked USAID for its generous support and also the University of Utah for its technical support to this centre.
The new USAID-funded building will house the US-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Water.
The new USPCAS-W building, comprising seven laboratories and six classrooms and costing 370 million rupees, will be completed within 14 months.
The building has separate facilities for special persons and women. USAID will equip the new facility at the university’s Institute of Water Resources Engineering and Management with state-of-the-art laboratories and research facilities.
Groarke, along with Dr Uqaili, met the first batch of PhD/MS students at the ORIC building and had an interactive session followed by questions and answers.
Dr Randy Hatfield, USAID’s senior policy adviser and manager of the Sindh Basic Education Programme, was also present on the occasion.
Dr Mohammad Aslam Chaudhary of the University of Utah and Prof. Dr Bakhshal Khan Lashari, project director of USPCAS-W, briefed the mission director and the senior policy adviser on the objectives and research projects of USPCAS-W.