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By: Aslam Chandio from Islamabad, Pakistan

The Government of Denmark has launched its new development program for Pakistan 2013-2016, under which Denmark will contribute USD 50 Million for democratic development, regional stability, human rights and gender equality.

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Denmark’s Minister for Development Cooperation Christian Friis Bach here on Wednesday said Denmark and Pakistan would work together to strengthen trade cooperation and boost economic relations for shared peace and prosperity. Speaking at the launching ceremony of government of Denmark’s new development programme 2013-16 for Pakistan, the Minister said he would encourage Danish companies to make more investments in Pakistan.

Denmark would 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.

The Danish Minister for Development Cooperation, Chrstian Friis Bach, who is on a two day visit to Pakistan, hosted the ceremony under the large presence of representatives from the civil society, media, diplomatic core and UN agencies. Tariq Fatemi, the Special Assistance to the Prime Minister was the Guest of Honour.

The Danish Minister for Development Cooperation said that increased access of Pakistani products to the European market would be beneficial for both sides. Danish aid to Pakistan is a small portion of its overall strategy for Pakistan; he said adding Danish aid should be a catalyst for broader social and economic change, gender equality and transformation in lives of people.

He said Denmark has expertise in agriculture and energy sectors particularly wind mills and solar energy and would like to share knowledge with Pakistani entrepreneurs.

Efforts will continue to expand the business markets in areas like renewable energy and energy efficiency as well as in life sciences, he said adding several leading Danish companies are already operating in Pakistan in pharmaceutical and dairy industries.

Later in an interactive session, Bach talked about the new program in the context of Denmark’s overall development strategy, “The Right to a Better Life”. He stressed that 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. 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 MTDF 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 channeled 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. Seven million $ support will be provided to state building, including statutory bodies in the human rights area and provincial assemblies in their roles 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 four million $ for strengthening of bilateral ties through people to people partnership programs.

Aslam Chandio is an Islamabad based journalist. He tweets at @aslamchandio_

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