Parliamentary State Secretary in the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Ms Gudrun Kopp, announced at the National Day reception in Islamabad that Germany will support emergency aid measures for the victims of the current floods in the Sindh and Balochistan provinces with 5.6 million euros.
Gudrun Kopp is currently in Pakistan on a visit to mark 50 years of Pakistan-German development cooperation.
“After the devastating floods last summer, millions of people are again heavily affected by this year’s flooding in southern Pakistan.
Once more, Germany is on the side of the people of Pakistan and is supporting the emergency operation of the World Food Programme and non-governmental organisations with 5.6 million euros of which 4.6 million euros are coming from the Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development whereas 1 million euros are coming from the Federal Foreign Office,” Ms Kopp said.
The measures of the non-governmental organisations supported by Germany are particularly focused on cash-for-work programmes for women. “Women play a fundamental role in the economic and social situation of families, particularly in the disaster context. We especially want to strengthen their capacity to act,” Gudrun Kopp said.
The current and last year’s floods illustrate how severely Pakistan is affected by natural disasters. “Germany will remain a reliable partner of Pakistan and its people, also in the context of natural disasters. But this is also the time to recall that intensified efforts by the government of Pakistan are needed for disaster prevention and management.
We will stay in close contact with the government of Pakistan about these priorities,” said Gudrun Kopp.
Together with two NGO partners, the German federal government is continuing its efforts in support of the restoration of livelihoods and social infrastructure as well as disaster prevention in north-western Pakistan.
Speakers at SASSI discussion advise on improving Pak-US relations: “There is a great need to work on diplomatic and economic strategies in Afghanistan by keeping in view the regional landscape and Pak-US Relations,” said Mr Brian Katulis, a US expert on Afghanistan and Pakistan, at a round-table discussion organised by the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute (SASSI). The discussion was attended by experts from the academia, media, foreign dignitaries and strategic community.
Katulis stressed upon the need to address the issues under debate on the national, regional and bilateral levels. “Bilateral relations between Pakistan and the US need to be worked on,” he said, adding that the broad strategic goals of Pakistan were similar to the US and while the two countries shared long-term strategic goals, the key differences lay in their threat perception, and not merely tactical issues.
“The US needs to understand that the differences in tactics to reach goals needed to be reconciled to the internal struggles of Pakistan in order to be successful,” he asserted. He said the current prevalent tactical pressures would be severely damaging to the relationship.
SASSI Director General Dr Maria Sultan said that Pak-US relations were at a very sensitive stage, and the issue of the two countries’ relationship was being debated widely. “There is an urgent need to establish a road map to a political resolution of the problems in Afghanistan, which has a direct impact on Pakistan’s security, and to cater to Pakistan’s legitimate interest in Afghanistan,” she added.
