March 31, 2006	Friday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 1, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, March 30: Britain’s Department of International Development (DFID) has invited the people of Pakistan to tell it how it can help to improve the quality of life for them.

British Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn issued the invitation as the DFID prepares “a White Paper about a new plan of action for the next five years” as the world’s eight richest nations have decided to make Asia the focus of their international development assistance.

“What we need now is action. We want to ensure commitments are delivered and developing countries must use it in the best interests of their citizens,” Benn said in a statement made available here on Thursday.

For that the donors need to know what ordinary people think should be done to reduce poverty, tackle corruption, ensure fair trade and reform the international development system - such as the United Nations, European Union, the World Bank - so that it delivered better results, the statement said.

“You understand the issues - for example how to guarantee access to clean water, how to give all children the schooling they deserve, how to provide mothers with the healthcare they need, how to tackle corruption. So what are the solution?” Benn asked inviting “people” to e-mail their opinions to: www.dfid.gov.uk/wp2006.

Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in his keynote address at Asia2015 Conference held in London on March 6 had presented a six-point plan for halving poverty in Asia by 2015.

“Our long term objective should be to help less-developed countries to maintain stability, narrow the wealth gap and raise the living standards of our people,” Aziz told the conference.

But at the same time he attached highest priority to the settlement of political disputes and security and stability at internal and external levels, as the key to long term development.

“Conflicts not only cause suffering for the people, but also consume huge resources away from national development,” he stressed.