Punjab CM, USAID Pakistan mission director agree to promote bilateral cooperation

LAHORE (92 News) - Reed Aeschliman, Mission Director of USAID Pakistan, called on Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Parvez Elahi at his office and agreed to enhance the development partnership between Punjab and USAID on Tuesday.

Both agreed to promote bilateral cooperation in IT, agriculture, water management, energy, education and security sectors. Cooperation was assured by USAID regarding the construction of small dams and clean energy and Reed Aeschliman welcomed the progress regarding the agreement to declare Punjab and California as sister states.

The CM termed USAID as an excellent development partner of the Punjab government and vowed to enhance cooperation with it to improve the economy, business and investment. "Under the new growth strategy of USAID for the next five years, steps would be taken to expand cooperation in the future," he said.

Parvez Elahi added that education has been made free up to graduation by the incumbent government. "The water management program was started in 2002 but the subsequent government did not do anything about it. In the previous era, a project was envisaged to build small dams based on the flow of canal water," he added.

The CM stated that Rescue 1122 is the best emergency service in Pakistan but also in South Asia. "This service has been devolved to provide convenience to the people. The Emergency Services Academy has been built on modern lines. The Rescue 1122 staff was the first to reach out to the flood victims. The provincial government has given a huge relief package for flood affectees to the tune of billions of rupees. The damage to the houses and livestock of the victims has been compensated by the government," he concluded.

Reed Aeschliman thanked CM for the support of the Punjab government and stated that cooperation would be promoted with the Punjab government. "Would be happy to extend support to the Punjab government in various areas," he added.