Denmark will spend US$ 50 million for programmes focusing on economic and democratic development, education, human rights and gender equality in Pakistan.
Denmark’s Minister for Development Cooperation Christian Friis Bach early this month launched the new development programme 2013-16 for Pakistan here.
According to sources, Denmark will almost double its commitment from around USD 8 million annually to USD 14 million over the next three and half years as a continuation of the first program launched in 2010.
Aid to Pakistan is a small portion of Denmark’s overall strategy for Pakistan and is expected to become a catalyst for broader social and economic change, gender equality and transformation in lives of people.
The main objective of the programme is to contribute to improving the lives of poor people and their ability to create a better life for themselves. The new program consists of two major components.
The first component aims to provide support to peace building, livelihoods and education in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Balochistan.
The support will be provided through a Multi Donor Trust Fund (MDTF) with a total budget of USD 15 million, which is administered by the World Bank and implemented by the provincial authorities.
The MDTF program focuses on reconstruction and economic development in the areas bordering Afghanistan and will strengthen the writ of the state.
In addition, USD 11 million will be channelled to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for early recovery of educational services in the border areas.
The second component focuses on enhanced democratization, human rights and gender equality.
Dollar seven million support will be provided to state building, including statutory bodies in the human rights area and provincial assemblies in their role as duty bearers and $ 13 million for civil society organizations as rights holder representatives in the areas of democratization, human rights and gender equality and $ 4 million for strengthening of bilateral ties through people to people partnership programs.
The Danish development program framework reflected the strategic choices made to support Pakistan in its democratic transition, especially taking account of the continued conflicts in the north-western border areas.
The Danish development strategy has a rights-based approach and focuses on the underlying power relations and fundamental causes of discrimination and poverty, giving priority to actions aimed at benefiting the poorest.
Denmark is keen to share its expertise in agriculture and energy sectors particularly wind mills and solar energy, with Pakistani entrepreneurs.
Several leading Danish companies are already operating in Pakistan in pharmaceutical and dairy industries.
The Danish embassy, for the first time, will open a commercial section later in 2013 in order to strengthen the commercial relations.
In 2012, the total Danish export of goods to Pakistan was around USD 93 million and for the first five months of 2013 the export of goods to Pakistan has increased by around 30 percent compared to the same period last year.
It is estimated that there will be an increase of 10 percent in the export of goods to Pakistan in 2013.
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