HYDERABAD: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) mission director Jerry Bisson and his deputy Denise Herbol, along with Sindh Minister for Education Jam Mehtab Dahar inaugurated the US-Pakistan Centre for Advanced Studies in Water at the Mehran University of Engineering and Technology (MUET) on Thursday.

The inauguration was to be performed by Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah but he could not make it.

Speaking at the ceremony, Mr Dahar thanked USAID for its full financial support in the establishment of the centre and the University of Utah for its technical and capacity-building support. Citing the multidimensional and multifaceted water-related challenges being faced by Pakistan, the minister called for taking necessary steps on a war-footing to manage water resources. He urged policymakers, researchers, advocacy groups, development professionals and civil society groups to join hands and evolve appropriate plans and policies to address the challenges.

He hoped that the centre would come up with sustainable solutions to water-related problems of the country.

Jerry Bisson, Denise Herbol, MUET Vice Chancellor Dr Mohammad Aslam Uqaili and former VC Prof S.M. Qureshi also spoke.

Published in Dawn, July 7th, 2017