ISLAMABAD, Jan 11 (INP) : Ambassador of the UAE to Pakistan, Eissa Al Basha Al Nuaimi, and Director of the UAE Pakistan Assistance Programme (UAE PAP), Abdullah Khalifa Al Ghafli, on Saturday attended the third meeting of multi-lateral and bilateral development partners, a donors conference for the rehabilitation of the flood affected people and Temporarily Displaced Persons (TDPs).
Ambassadors of 26 donor countries and representatives of international organisations attended the meeting which was opened and chaired by Pakistan’s Finance Minister, Ishaq Dar.
In a speech at the meeting, Al Basha emphasised that the UAE and Pakistan maintain historical and strong fraternal relations that reflect their leaders’ keen interest in serving the common interests of the two countries. He noted that since their establishment by the UAE founding father, the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the relations with Pakistan have progressed well to the highest levels to include all political, economic, humanitarian and social spheres.
The UAE PAP, launched on Jan.12, 2011, in collaboration with Pakistani relevant authorities, was the first to implement infrastructure and social care projects in Pakistan’s flood-damaged regions, added Al Basha noting that these projects include healthcare and education facilities and water, roads and bridges.
He said that in line with the directives of President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan following the natural disasters in Pakistan, the UAE launched the UAE PAP as a comprehensive long-term development plan for Pakistan’s northwestern regions.
The UAE ambassador noted that the UAE PAP, in the past four years, has implemented 156 projects humanitarian and development projects with a total value of $315 million, an effort reflecting the wise UAE leadership’s approach and its support for the people of Pakistan.
The UAE, noted Al Basha has vaccinated more than 13,2 million children in Pakistan against polio between June and September 2014.
The campaign was an initiative of General Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of UAE Armed Forces, in accordance with directives from Sheikh Khalifa.
On April 24, 2013, one day ahead of the Global Vaccine Summit in Abu Dhabi, General Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed pledged a donation of Dhs440 million ($120 million) to support global efforts to eradicate polio by 2018.
During the UAE’s four-month effort to combat the deadly infectious disease, 13,238,701 Pakistani children were vaccinated, of whom10,235,995 were in 25 areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and 3,447,706 in the tribal regions.
INP/AH
