Pakistan to get Rs1.2bn soft loan from Italy, says envoy

• Provincial Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Tourism Atif Khan met Italian Ambassador to Pakistan Stefano Pontecorvo at the Civil Secretariat Peshawar on Monday.
• Bilateral relations and investment in integrated districts were discussed in the meeting.

The Italian government announced a loan of Rs1.2 billion on soft terms, for the archaeology department of Pakistan.

The development occurred during the meeting between Provincial Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Tourism Atif Khan and Italian Ambassador to Pakistan Stefano Pontecorvo at the Civil Secretariat Peshawar on Monday.

The promotion of religious tourism in Pakistan was discussed during the meeting. Bilateral relations and investment in integrated districts were discussed in the meeting.

As per the announcement, the loan would be used to set up archeological laboratories and for the preservation of archeological sites. The Italian ambassador also assured the training of archeological special police in the province. It was learnt that the Italian Police will provide regular training to the Archaeological Special Police and that Special Archeological Police will help prevent smuggling in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.