Zubair qureshi
Islamabad
The International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) seeks enhanced cooperation from Pakistan in terms of its contributions and assistance for the ongoing as well as the future programmes of rural poverty reduction, support to small land farmers, women empowerment and above all the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
These views were expressed by Director of the Quality Assurance Group, IFAD at the office of the President and Vice President in Rome, Ashwani Muthoo upon the conclusion of his three-day visit to Pakistan.
Muthoo arrived in Pakistan on Nov 9 and left on Nov 11 and during these three days he held extensive dialogue with the Federal Government in relation to the ongoing IFAD12 replenishment negotiations.
“I held meetings with the Secretaries and other senior officials in several Ministries including Finance, Economic Affairs, National Food Security and Research, Foreign Affairs, and Planning,” said Director of the IFAD adding he underlined in those meetings the importance of the IFAD-Pakistan partnership for promoting sustainable and inclusive rural transformation, and how IFAD-funded programmes are making a real impact on the productivity and lives of poor rural people in the various provinces of Pakistan.
Pakistan’s contribution to IFAD was around US$9 million in 2017 and in the backdrop of the long and trusted partnership between IFAD and Pakistan for more than 4 decades, IFAD is seeking the support of Pakistan to double its contribution to around US$ 20 million in IFAD12 by making a pledge in the final replenishment meeting in middle of December 2020, he said.
Doubling of their contribution to the IFAD12 replenishment by the Government of Pakistan will enable IFAD to increase the volume of resources provided to Pakistan to address climate change in agriculture, improve productivity, promote further women’s empowerment, and strengthen agricultural institutions, he said.
Muthoo has worked extensively in strengthening the partnership between IFAD and Pakistan over the years, and undertaken numerous official visits to the country in the last two decades.
