To celebrate the more than six decades of cooperation between the United States and Pakistan in supporting a more prosperous future for the people of the country International Development United States Agency for International Development (USAID )Administrator Dr Rajiv Shah and Federal Finance Minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh on Friday inaugurated a photo exhibition here at Pakistan National Council for the Arts (PNCA)
US Ambassador to Pakistan Cameron Munter, officials from US and Pakistan, civil society members and several media persons were also present on the occasion. The colourful exhibition will remain open at the ( PNCA) through April 17.
Speaking to a small gathering Dr Shah said that the United States has been working with Pakistan to further its development priorities since 1950s. He said: “Ultimately, our work is about helping the people of Pakistan chart their own future.” He further said that the United States support Pakistan’s efforts to ensure that the fruits of development benefit the most vulnerable, that economic growth was as meaningful to a family farmer as it is to a woman entrepreneur, and that individuals once tempted by extremism see the value of peace”.
For more than six decades, the US Government has helped Pakistan develop its economy by supporting the development of its water, power, transportation and communications infrastructure and by facilitating the establishment of Pakistan’s university system, Dr Shah said, adding that the US supported universities including Institute of Business Administration, Lahore University of Management Sciences, Jinnah Post- Graduate Medical Centre and many others. “In the 1960s and 1970s the United States facilitated the Green Revolution in Pakistan, enabling the country to meet its people’s food needs,” he said. “The United States also funded construction of several major power plants and dams, such as Tarbela and Mangla.”
United States- sponsored health programmes also helped eradicate malaria in the country, Shah said and added that “To this day, the United States continues to support Pakistan with extensive programmes in the education, health care, economic growth, stabilisation and energy sectors.”
