Japan to grant Rs3.07bln for weather radar

ISLAMABAD: Japan will grant an assistance of 1.986 billion Japanese yen (Rs3.078 billion) for the installation of a weather surveillance radar in Sukkur, under an agreement signed on Monday, a statement said.

It said the project would help deliver reliable and timely meteorological services to prevent the damage to life and property caused by disasters. The grant agreement was signed by Noor Ahmad, Secretary EAD, and Matsuda Kuninori, Ambassador of Japan, on behalf of their governments.

The Federal Minister for Economic Affairs, Makhdum Khusro Bakhtyar witnessed the signing ceremony. Commenting on the development, Secretary EAD said, “Pakistan values the reciprocal and congenial relations with Japan and both countries share mutual stance on most of the regional and international affairs”.

“Japanese economic assistance has played and shall continue to play a vital role in the socio-economic uplift of Pakistan.” Ahmad also appreciated the earlier assistance extended by Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for installation of the Weather Surveillance Radars in Karachi, Islamabad & Multan and establishment of Specialized Medium Range Weather Forecasting Centre (SMRFC).

He acknowledged Japan as a proactive development partner that had always helped Pakistan during emergencies like polio and COVID-19 outbreak. Addressing the ceremony, Japanese ambassador said, “Disaster management is one of its priority areas as both the countries are prone to natural disasters with frequent episodes of floods, earthquakes, storms, landslides and heavy rains”.

“Japan with its experience and technical expertise is glad to assist Pakistan, especially for disaster risk reduction, to save lives and properties of people,” ambassador Kuninori said. It must be noted that apart from these projects, Japan regularly offers fully-funded training courses and masters/doctorate programs, including Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), Leaders Capacity Development and Human Resource Development to strengthen disaster management in Pakistan.