Germany has agreed to provide Pakistan €448.5 million funding for projects in different sectors including vocational training, health, social protection, urban infrastructure, climate change, and renewable energy.
This was revealed by State Secretary of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation & Development, Germany, Jochen Flasbarth during a meeting with Minister for Economic Affairs, Omar Ayub Khan on Monday.
Omar Ayub appreciated the enhanced bilateral economic cooperation of Germany with Pakistan. He stated that Pakistan and Germany are long-standing development partners. He mentioned that Germany, since 1961, has provided €3.8 billion as technical and financial assistance for socioeconomic development in Pakistan. At present, the Society for International Cooperation (GIZ) is providing €147.5 million for Vocational Training, Health, Social Protection and Renewable Energy. The Credit for Reconstruction Bank (KfW) has also committed €301 million for various development projects including Renewable Energy, Health, Urban Infrastructure and Climate Change.
The Minister briefed the German State Secretary and the accompanying delegation on the ongoing policy reforms and initiatives and the development priorities of the Pakistani government. He said the government accorded priority to focus on climate change, green energy, agriculture, regional connectivity, and information communication technologies. He stressed that there is a need to focus on vocational and technical education in the country. In this regard, a proposal for establishing a state-of-the-art technical training university in Gilgit-Baltistan is under consideration. He also mentioned the need for improving road infrastructure and digital connectivity across the country to facilitate safe travel and smooth e-services.
German State Secretary, Jochen Flasbarth expressed satisfaction over the trajectory of bilateral cooperation in different areas and highlighted the ways to further enhance the bilateral technical and financial cooperation. He assured that Germany will provide further assistance for the social sector, including education, health, green energy, urban infrastructure, digital governance, and the Start-Up Pakistan Program.
Omar Ayub reiterated full support of the Government of Pakistan to the investors in the country, affirming that Pakistan has huge potential for investment in various sectors
The two sides exchanged views on increasing the cost-effectiveness of development assistance initiatives and the measures to enhance cooperation with the private sector including export competitiveness through technical and financial assistance.
Bernhard Schlagheck, Ambassador of Germany to Pakistan; Marion Pfennigs, Head of Development/First Secretary of German Embassy; Helmut Fischer, Director for Afghanistan & Pakistan of BMZ; Thorsten Schafer Gumbel, Board Member of GIZ; Julius Spatz, Director for Afghanistan & Pakistan of GIZ; Tobias Becker, Country Director GIZ; Sebastian Jacobi, Country Director KfW; Laura Schneider of GIZ; and senior officers of Economic Affairs Division (EAD) also attended the meeting.
Source: Pro Pakistani