ISLAMABAD: The Nor­we­gian government and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on Thursday signed an agreement worth $1 million to enhance the capacity of the Punjab police and prosecution departments in Gujranwala and Rawalpindi.

The capacity-building pro­ject was approved by Norwegian Ambassador Tore Nedrebo and UNODC representative Cesar Guedes, which would be implemented by the UNODC over a period of three years.

Highlighting achievements of the UNODC, Mr Guedes said the agency had an extensive experience of implementing programmes with police and prosecution in Pakistan, particularly Punjab, with financial support of the government of Norway.

“Since 2012, the UNODC is providing assistance to the police in Gujranwala with a focus on investigation, forensics and training. Building on previous efforts with the support of Norway, it [the agency] aims at furthering its engagement,” said the UNODC representative.

He reaffirmed his organisation’s continuous support to Pakistan with the international community’s assistance.

The Norwegian ambassador said his country’s contribution to the project marked confirmation of cooperation and continuation of efforts to assist the Punjab police department in strengthening training and investigation capacity.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2017