ISLAMABAD, Feb 25: The ambassador of European Commission (EC) delegation to Pakistan, Ilkka Uusitalo, handed over nine project vehicles to the Trust for Voluntary Organizations (TVO).

According to a press release, the vehicles have been provided as a part of e 8.7 million grant to the TVO under Rural Social Development Programme (RSDP) of the commission.

On the occasion, the ambassador said the EC was significantly contributing towards providing better social services to the rural people.

The RSDP and EC have provide Euro 25 million (Rs1.52 billion) for implementation of different social development initiates in Pakistan, he added.

Over 400 community-based projects benefiting about four million people are being implemented across the country under the RSDP in various fields, including primary health care, sanitation, water supply, basic education and reproductive health.

For capacity building and training, over 100 staff members of the RSDP partner organizations have participated in international and national training workshops/courses. Similarly, about 4,000 members of the beneficiary NGOs have benefited from various capacity building initiatives supported the EC.

The ambassador said the European Union was among the major grant donors in Pakistan and striving for poverty eradication and development of social sector.