ISLAMABAD: South Korea has announced its support for Unesco’s Girls’ Right to Education Programme in Pakistan with the signing of an agreement between Unesco Director General Audrey Azoulay and South Korean Ambassador to Unesco Lee Byong-hyun in Paris on Friday.

The $3.4 million project, with the Korea International Cooperation Agency, would support national capacity building to realise girls’ right to education in Punjab and Gilgit-Baltistan, through interventions targeting officials, community leaders, teachers and parents.

“South Korea’s growing support to Unesco, especially to education, is extremely valuable and a proof of trust in our organisation, which we deeply appreciate,” said Ms Azoulay.

Institutions in Punjab, Gilgit-Baltistan to benefit from programme

“Your country’s success story is not just about economic development, it also shows the links between education and building a culture of peace, which is coherent with the values of Unesco,” she added.

Ambassador Lee recalled the role that foreign assistance and education had played in rebuilding his poverty-stricken country after the Korean war.

The cooperation with Unesco, reflected in some 30 projects under way in education, science and culture, exemplified the country’s policy to return what it received from the foreign community in the past, he added.

Pakistan’s Ambassador to Unesco Moin-ul-Haque appreciated the support affirming that “girls in these areas are passionate about education”.

The government contributed $10m to the Malala Fund for Girls’ Right to Education established in 2012 of which $7m was earmarked for the programme in Pakistan launched in 2015.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2018