- Al Ghafli says third phase to cover Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas
Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a $200 million cooperation agreement to execute Phase III of the UAE-Pakistan Assistance Programme (UAE PAP).
The agreement was signed in implementation of the directives of President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, under the support of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who is also deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and the follow-up of Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan to provide humanitarian aid to Pakistan.
The assistance programme has been launched with the objective of providing help and humanitarian assistance to the people of Pakistan and support their development initiatives for a better future. Its mission is to execute development aid projects that offer sustainability and continuous benefits to beneficiaries over the long run.
The agreement, which will be funded by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD), was signed here by MCE Commandant Major General Anwarul Haq Chaudhry of the Pakistani Army and PAP Director Abdullah Khalifa Al Ghafli, in the presence of Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa and UAE Ambassador Hamad Obeid Al Zaabi.
At the end of the signing ceremony, the UAE representatives presented a memorial plaque to the Pakistan Army chief, marking the 51st anniversary of the drive of humanitarian aid for Pakistan initiated by the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan in 1967.
Commenting on the agreement, Ambassador Hamad Al Zaabi affirmed that the launch of the third phase of the UAE’s development and humanitarian projects in Pakistan underscores the commitment of the UAE to stand constantly by the people of Pakistan, affirming that the PAP was a pioneering model and a tangible guide to success of the humanitarian development effort of the UAE leadership.
“The relentless humanitarian and developmental efforts made by the UAE wise leadership are the basic pillars of the country’s foreign policy established by the founding father Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan and have been maintained by President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan,” the ambassador said.
“The relations between Pakistan and the UAE are based on mutual love and respect and they have blossomed into a variety of fruitful partnerships,” the ambassador said, considering friendship and close ties between the two countries as the main element of the growing partnership between the two countries.
He said that the second major pillar of the distinctive bilateral relations between the two countries was the harmony in views on issues of regional and global importance. The third pillar of these bilateral relations was the human factor, which, the ambassador said, was the main element in the UAE’s humanitarian policy.
In this regard, he cited the schools, colleges, hospitals, clinics, water supply projects, roads and bridges established by the UAE in various regions of Pakistan. “Such projects translate the importance, the UAE leadership attaches to education and health while building communities, with the ultimate goal of grooming generations capable of spearheading their nations in the future.”
Abdullah Al Ghafli said that this phase complements the previous phases, under which165 development and humanitarian projects at a cost of $365 million have been established. Giving details of the projects to be covered under PAP’s third phase, he pointed out that this phase would cover three regions including Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas. It will also include 40 projects covering roads, health, education, water and agriculture domains.
