PESHAWAR: US Ambassador Donald Blome visited Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) to deepen the United States’ partnership with the people of KP through initiatives related to economic growth, education, security, and cultural preservation.
To strengthen the US-Pakistan economic partnership in KP, the Ambassador and KP Planning and Development Secretary Shah Mahmood Khan inaugurated a new US-funded, $24 million, five-year project to strengthen and modernise the agriculture sector and small and medium enterprises during the his visit from Feb 28 to March 2 in KP, said in a press release issued US Consulate in Peshawar.
Ambassador Blome also met with business leaders at FF Steel to talk about trade and commerce in the province, as well as environmental practices in business.
To highlight educational activities, Ambassador Blome visited Abdul Wali Khan University Mardan to inaugurate a new English Works program.
The United States is providing scholarships for 215 KP students to complete a six-month program in Mardan and Charsadda to improve their English language proficiency and other skills needed for professional success. Since 2019, the United States has provided more than $3 million to support English language education in KP, benefiting more than 3,500 students and teachers in this province.
Ambassador Blome also inaugurated a reconstructed higher secondary school in Akbarpura that was damaged in the devastating 2010 floods.
The United States invested $1.5 million to rebuild the school, which employs over 50 teachers and is educating more than 1,100 students. In addition, the Ambassador visited a government girls’ primary school where a U.S.-funded program increases school enrollment among Afghan refugee and Pakistani host community girls. This program is part of the US government’s nearly $60 million in assistance for refugees and their host communities in Pakistan in Fiscal Year 2022.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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