Ambassador Bernhard Schlagheck has underlined that COVID-19 has shaken the world unexpectedly

Ansar Bhatti

ISLAMABAD:  The German government has made available 6.5 million euros to support two bilateral technical cooperation measures in Pakistan.

Firstly and in view of the challenges the world has to face due to COVID-19, Germany as part of  TeamEurope decided to upscale its support to local Pakistani governments in their fight against the pandemic. Therefore, the German government has made available 0.5 million euros to promote activities that contribute to mitigating socio-economic effects of the pandemic on a local level.

Moreover, in these testing times it is more important than ever to focus on the vulnerable parts of society. Therefore Germany will commit 6 million euros to support Pakistani communities which host Afghan refugees to improve local health and education services. The projects will be implemented by the German development organization Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development.

Ambassador Bernhard Schlagheck underlined: “COVID-19 has shaken the world unexpectedly – and we will continue to feel the socio-economic consequences of the virus for quite a long-time. Showing solidarity with each other during these trying times is the responsibility of us all. The pandemic highlighted the importance of access to health and education and stressed the necessity to support the weakest parts of society. Germany is looking forward to supporting Pakistan in its efforts to overcome the crisis and to build back better – for a more sustainable future.”