The United Kingdom (UK) has announced 30 million pound sterling for budgetary support for the current financial year besides doubling the 480 million pound sterling assistance under a long term development partnership for ten years.
The assistance would be utilised for reduction of poverty, improving financial management and fortifying the principles of democracy. The two sides agreed to put in place a mechanism to make the assistance performance-oriented.
Robet Brinkely, British High Commissioner conveyed the decision of support of his government during a meeting with Finance Minister Ishaq Dar here on Thursday.
Economic cooperation for high quality technical capacity development, reducing poverty, strengthening financial management and accountability, increasing incomes of the poor, service delivery in education and health under countries assistance plan to achieve Millennium Development Goals consistent with PRSP and MTDF were also discussed during the meeting.
Pakistan appreciated Department for International Development (DFID) strategy for alleviation of poverty. Senator Dar resolved to accelerate efforts to achieve targets set out in Millennium Development Goals. He appreciated UK''s 160-million pound sterling assistance under Pak-UIC development partnership agreement.
According to a handout, various development assistance programmes of UK figured in the meeting. These include 60 million pound sterling national health and population facility to support health and population programme, 80 million pound sterling budgetary support for poverty reduction spread over three years, DFID''s 90 million pound sterling for maternal and neonatal health and budget support of 35 million pound sterling to Erra for earthquake reconstruction. Dar emphasised the need for DFID to expand their operation to other parts of the country especially the far-flung areas of Balochistan, Sindh and Fata under the upcoming country assistance plan.
lshaq Dar informed the British High Commissioner that his team was in the process of formulating tools of financial management to induct transparency in the system. He said that a council of economic experts would work on mechanism of targeting pro-poor measures. Pakistan also sought British assistance for evolving coherent, uniform and credible system of compiling statistics and British support for the next census.