Poverty reduction: 'Pakistan can benefit from Chinese expertise'

Pakistan can get benefit from the experience of China for poverty reduction, said one of the Pakistan delegates attended here a seminar on poverty alleviation. The two-week seminar on "Poverty policy and practice" was hosted by International Poverty Reduction Centre in China for the member countries of South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc).
Deputy Secretary (Economic Reform Unit), Moinuddin Ahmad Wani along with Assistant Chief of Economic Affairs Division Ghulam Muhammad Mahar; Additional Secretary, Planning and Development Department, Balochistan Sohail Qadeer Siddiqui; Deputy Secretary (Investment), Finance Division, Iqbal Ahmed and Research Analyst Economic Affairs Division Zulfiqar Ali Shaikh represented Pakistan.
The seminar attended by officials from Saarc countries was concluded on Friday. Wani said the participants were briefed on China's social and economic development policies and its experience and achievements in poverty reduction. He said China did a great job by taking various steps to help reduce poverty, this including introduction of reforms especially in agriculture, social development as well as in human resources.
He said that during a field visit to Chongqing Municipality in Southwest China, they were informed that to encourage growers, the State had provided agriculture loans amounting to 70 percent of the total amount, while 30 percent was shared by the farmers.
He said that this step encouraged the growers to bring maximum area under cultivation. Wani said that during the 15-day workshop, seminar, talks and discussions were held on a number of areas of poverty reduction in which strategies Asian countries can adopt to cope with regional economic integration, and methods of managing and supervising poverty reduction funds also reviewed threadbare.
The seminar on Poverty Policy and Practice for South Asian Countries reflected the Chinese governments' commitment to enhance co-operation with south Asian nations on poverty reduction. Deputy Secretary Wani pointed out that Pakistan could benefit a lot from these steps in poverty alleviation.