ISLAMABAD: Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar, Pakistan’s acting prime minister, celebrated the world community, development partners, and Rotary International on Friday for their contributions to the country’s polio eradication.
During a meeting with a group from Rotary International headed by Stephanie A. Urchik, the prime minister expressed gratitude for the organization’s support of education and other fields.
The prime minister was informed by the team on the Rotary International’s polio eradication efforts and the Pakistan Smart Village Program.
The prime minister sent greetings and congratulations to Stephanie on becoming Rotary International’s first female president.
He also reaffirmed the determination of his government to protect all Pakistani children from polio.
He gave Rotary International his word that his administration would fully cooperate with it in carrying out its programs and conveyed the wish that the group would increase program accessibility.
The prime minister was informed that Rotary would use creativity and technology to assist improve people’s quality of life.
It was explained that the Smart Villages will supply drinking water, enhance irrigation, harness alternative energy sources, support the agricultural industry, and lessen the effects of climate change.
It was reported to the meeting that Balochistan received 200,000 of the approximately 800,000 books that Rotary International had donated to Pakistan.
The prime minister received an additional 10,000 books from the delegation, which would be dispersed throughout the nation.
It was reported that Rotary International’s mobile library was assisting in the promotion of literacy and book reading.
Attending the meeting were top personnel who were important and Dr. Nadeem Jan, the interim health minister.
In a letter to his Chinese counterpart Li Qiang, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar also asked the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to roll over $2 billion in loans for Pakistan.
According to sources in the finance ministry, PM Kakar thanked his government for financial support in a letter to the Chinese premier.
Citing the letter, the sources said that “China gave a loan to the government of Pakistan in a difficult economic situation.”
The sources claim that loans totaling $4 billion have been placed in safe deposit, relieving Pakistan of some of its external payment obligations.
In May of last year, when the Chinese government was rolling over more than $2 billion in debt, Beijing helped Pakistan in its fight to obtain the crucial IMF loan that was still outstanding.
The cordial neighbor had promised to provide extra funding to Islamabad as soon as Pakistan was scheduled to make the $2.3 billion debt repayments, helping the country meet two critical debt repayment deadlines in June.
In May 2023, a senior government source informed The News that “the refinancing of the commercial loans worth $1.3 billion and a Chinese government loan of $1 billion would help Pakistan avert immediate default.”
China had previously rolled over a few loans to Pakistan earlier in 2023, and on a visit to the nation in May of last year, Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang reaffirmed Beijing’s financial backing for Pakistan.
