KARACHI, June 21: The Speaker of Sindh Assembly, Syed Muzaffar Hussain Shah, and the US Ambassador to Pakistan, Ryan C Crocker, on Tuesday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU). The agreement formalizes cooperation between the provincial assembly and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for a programme of technical assistance to strengthen the Sindh Assembly.

The MoU signing ceremony was held at the speaker’s chamber in the Sindh Assembly building.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr Crocker said he was happy to provide funding for meeting the reform agenda of the assembly to make it a more effective body.

Mr Shah thanked the ambassador for the valuable assistance, which he said would go a long way in empowering legislators, and for strengthening democracy besides meeting requirements of staffing, library facilities, upgradation of its website, organising workshops, seminars and training facilities for them.

The agreement signifies the Sindh Assembly’s commitment to improving the professionalism of its staff and members to carry out the assembly’s business, said Mr Crocker.

Under the project, a training centre would be established that would provide orientation to parliamentarians in the provincial and national legislatures to help them work through the rules of business, develop their committee system, and become acquainted with other topics required to improving the way business of government is conducted.

“The Sindh Assembly, in line with the rich political culture of the province, is dedicated to the cause of legislative strengthening,” he noted.

The USAID is preparing to launch an $8 million programme to build the capacity of all four provincial assemblies as well as the National Assembly and the Senate. The MoU sets forth terms of the joint-USAID parliamentary cooperation.

A similar MoU has been signed with the Balochistan Assembly, while it would soon be signed with other provincial assemblies and the national parliament in the coming weeks making it a truly all-Pakistan effort, the ambassador told reporters.

The USAID’s legislative strengthening programme is one of several USAID programmes aimed at helping strengthen Pakistan’s democratic institutions and in organizing projects to support electoral reform, strengthen political parties and advance devolution.

The USAID is helping Pakistan to improve the transparency, accountability and competency of its overall governance setup.