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US, Japan to provide $1000m for Pakistan flood rehabilitation

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Islamabad, Nov 15, IRNA -- Japan and United States will provide $500 million each to Pakistan for reconstruction and rehabilitation of flood affected areas, top representatives of 2 countries said at a forum in Islamabad Monday.

Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Makiko Kikuta, and US Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke made the announcements at Pakistan Development Forum in Islamabad.

“I have the honour today to announce that we will provide additional 500 million US dollars worth of assistance,” the Japanese Vice-Minister said.

She added that Japan will provide the Government of Pakistan with approximately 233 million US dollars worth of additional soft loans, for rehabilitation of roads and bridges in rural areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province as well as for importing such goods as fertilisers and seeds required for reconstruction following the flood.

“Furthermore, we will provide approximately 267 million US dollars worth of assistance for the works of the international organizations, subject to Diet approval. Put together, Japan’s assistance related to the flood will amount to approximately 568 million US dollars”.

On his part Richard Holbrooke said that the $500 million will be given to Pakistan from $1.5 billion annual aid package the country receives every year under a law called the Kerry-Lugar-Berman Bill.

Pakistan will receive a total of $7.5 billion from the US over the next five years.

Richard Holbrooke said that the allocation of money would form part of the annual $1.5 billion assistance.

He said the US administration would also try to get the legislation regarding the Reconstruction Opportunity Zones (ROZs) passed from the new Congress.

He was appreciative of the remarkable resilience of the people of Pakistan and said that the quickest way to rebuild homes, replace the lost livestock, rebuild schools and lives was through handing over cash assistance to them.

He strongly urged the representatives from around 30 countries and five international institutions to assist Pakistan in helping its people in the cash compensation package for the flood affected people.

“The Obama Administration was supportive of Pakistan because it was the right thing to do,” he said, adding, 'It will also have to show to the American taxpayers that Pakistan's wealthy, too, pay taxes.'

He said that no country has received so much attention as Pakistan and vowed that it would continue through the next year as President Barack Obama would visit Pakistan and President would Zardari visits the United States.