PESHAWAR, May 18: Foreign donors have pledged to continue providing assistance to handle the issues of poverty, gender inequality and social sector reform in the NWFP.

The assurance came at the inaugural session of the NWFP Development Forum which began here on Thursday with focus on major social and economic issues.

The forum aims to get fiscal assistance from donors to tap natural and human resources of the province, where the level of human development is below the national average.

Chief Minister Akram Khan Durrani inaugurated the forum which is jointly organised by the provincial government and the World Bank. Representatives of the Asian Development Bank, USAID, the European Union and European diplomats are attending the forum.

Speakers called for firm commitments from donors, sought private sector’s role in exploring natural resources and quality education and stressed the need for a focused approach to achieving Millennium Development Goals.

South Korean diplomat Kim Kyon Yong noted that in Pakistan the public sector had a dominating role in decision making.

He said that to achieve the economic growth that had a trickle down effect the country needed to involve the private sector in the decision making.

The chief minister said the province was facing big challenges due to its geographical location, the situation on its western border, low investment in human capital and a fragile private sector.

He said the Oct 8 earthquake had caused tremendous loss of lives and property in five districts of the province.

He said the government with the assistance of the World Bank, ADB and DFID had started reforming the social sector to improve quality of public life.

Mr Durrani assured the forum that his government would provide a competitive environment to the private sector. He invited investors and donors to take advantage of the investment-friendly environment in the province.

He said the government would accelerate the human development process and improve service delivery in social sectors, including healthcare and education systems with focus on women’s literacy.

He said the government had been pursuing fiscal reforms to ensure sustainability and enhance effectiveness and accountability and strengthen resource mobilisation.

ADB representative Peter L. Fedon expressed satisfaction over the ongoing ‘access to justice system programme’ in the province.

He said the ADB was financing various projects in the social sector and would continue technical and financial assistance to utilise natural and human resources of the province.

The World Bank representative called for a strengthened donor commitment to reduce poverty and increase GDP growth.