Naveed Ahmed Khan
The Record of Discussion for KOICA(Korea International Cooperation Agency)’s new grant project, ‘Enhancing Water Quality Monitoring System to achieve SDG 6 in Pakistan’ has been signed between Government of Pakistan and the Republic of Korea on 25th September in Ministry of Climate Change. Adviser to Prime Minister on Climate Change, Malik Amin Aslam and Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Pakistan, His Excellency Kwak Sung-Kyuattended the signing ceremony.
The USD 7.42 Million dollar project from 2019 to 2024 aims to improve capacity of the Government of Pakistan to achieve SDG 6. KOICA will provide water quality testing equipment and training to PHED (Public Health Engineering Department) laboratories in 36 Punjab and 8 KP provinces. In addition, consultation and technical suggestion on water related policy and legislative reform will be also supported through this project. KOICA is a grant agency of Korean government and has implemented various projects in the field of water, energy and rural development in Pakistan.
Mr. Malik Amin Aslam said that the current Government of Pakistan is completely committed to actions regarding the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) issues through Clean and Green Pakistan initiative. He also said that water management is a big challenge both in quality and quantity, this project is timely meaningful and can contribute to improving water management to achieve SDG in Pakistan. He also added that he is very thankful for the Korean Government to provide this support and expect more in the forestry and other sectors as well.
Kwak Sung-Kyu said that Korean Government will support to address water issues for friendship between two countries. Microbial contamination in drinking water has been highlighted as a major cause of illness and deaths among people, especially in small children. He also said that he hopes that this project will improve the people’s quality of life by improving water quality parameters and helps in achieving SDGs.
