Members of the Committee for Economic Co-operation and Development of the German Parliament (Bundestag), including Committee's chairperson Dagmar Woehrl and the Vice President of the German Bundestag Claudia Roth arrived in Islamabad here on Tuesday. The five parliamentarians have stayed in Pakistan for five days.
Their visit focussed on discussing further strengthening of German-Pakistani relations in terms of development co-operation. German Development Co-operation with Pakistan has been ongoing since 1961 and is specifically geared to support in the four sectors of governance, education, health and energy. Pakistan is among the top recipients of German Development Funding. During their visit to Pakistan, the five parliamentarians called on the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan Mamnoon Hussain, Chief of Army Staff Raheel Sharif and Speaker of the National Assembly Sardar Ayaz Sadiq.
The visit included meetings and talks with civil society members and high-ranking journalists as well as representatives of the textile industry and trade unions. The delegation also visited a diverse range of development projects around Islamabad and Lahore.
The parliamentarians raised several issues related to the implementation of the 27 conventions that are linked to the GSP Plus status granted by the European Union to Pakistan. In particular, these are empowerment of and equal rights to women, labour rights and social standards in the textile industry and ban on child labour. Dagmar Woehrl, Chairperson of the Development Committee stated, "Pakistan is a country with huge potential. However, some major challenges still need to be addressed to achieve equitable and sustainable economic growth. Germany will continue supporting Pakistan's development through bilateral co-operation in the areas of Governance, Energy, TVET and Health."-PR
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