Argentine Ambassador Rodolfo Jose Martin Saravia met Federal Minister and Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP) Chairperson Farzana Raja here at the BISP Secretariat on Tuesday to discuss issues of bilateral interests. On the occasion, both sides agreed to further explore the avenues of mutual cooperation to raise funds for the BISP. During the meeting, mutual cooperation in the areas of water purification, training of paramedics and nursing came under discussion. The avenues regarding public-private partnership also came under consideration during the discussion. Farzana Raja praised the visiting ambassador for cooperating in various initiatives of the BISP, including its scheme to promote vocational and technical skills in Pakistan. Under the programme, she said, hundreds of individuals from beneficiary families are being trained as part of graduation scheme of BISP to enable financially vulnerable families to break the vicious circle of poverty on long-term basis. Farzana Raja said that BISP would happily share the data collected through national poverty survey with any country willing to launch similar initiatives in their country. Rodolfo Jose lauded the vision and working of BISP for poverty alleviation and underlined the need of enhanced cooperation, especially in the social sector. He said that due to transparency and objectivity of the BISP operations, it has gained international support and acknowledgment.
