ISLAMABAD: The Jap­anese government has decided to implement seven new technical cooperation programmes in Pakistan to cater for the social needs of growing industries and their capacity building at the federal and provincial levels.

These programmes are part of the 25 technical cooperation programmes that the Japanese government will implement in Pakistan, the Japanese embassy anno­unced on Monday.

The cooperation programmes include the projects and dispatch of experts for improvement in health, education, agriculture, gender and information technology sectors and would be implemented by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) over a period of about three years.

The programmes cover areas such as strengthening care for mothers, new-born and child health in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, dispatching education policy adviser to Sindh, strengthening community engagement and educational practices for better retention in Sindh, providing technical support for livestock genetic improvement in Sindh, coaching trout farming technology in KP, promoting survivor-centered app­roach in gender-based violence in Punjab, and dispatching technical adviser for ICT industry development in Pakistan.

Apart from an effective implementation of these programmes, Jica would also conduct online training to share Japanese expertise and experience under the restrictions on overseas travel due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Japanese Ambassador Matsuda Kuninori, citing his optimism on the new cooperation programmes, said that these projects with their successful implementation would greatly benefit the government and people of Pakistan at the federal and provincial levels.

He said that capacity building in health, education, agriculture, gender and ICT sectors was one of the priority areas for the Japanese assistance in Pakistan.

Mr Matsuda expressed the hope that these projects would contribute towards the bright future of Pakistan and further strengthen ties between the two countries.

Published in Dawn, July 20th, 2021