PESHAWAR, Nov 26: The United States will provide $105 million during the current financial year as part of its long-term development assistance to the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas (Fata), Lynne Tracy, principal officer at the US consulate in Peshawar said on Monday.

Speaking at a gathering at the Institute of Management Sciences (IMS) here, Ms Tracy said the US would continue to help Pakistan improve its sectors of education, healthcare, transportation and economy in the tribal areas, says a press release.

To this effect, she maintained, the US government had signed a new agreement with Pakistan on Sept 30, offering $750 million in development assistance to Fata over the next five years.

Under this programme, the US would provide $105 million this year, she said, and added that women in Fata would benefit substantially from this assistance.

According to her, the US assistance would be used to support programmes in capacity building, livelihood, agriculture, different sizes of enterprises, health, education and infrastructure development in Fata.

She further said that the objective of this long-term assistance was to improve economic and social conditions of local communities and support sustainable development.

Ms Tracy noted that this effort would help create economic opportunities for people in the Fata with employment generation programmes, including cash for work; skills development and vocational training, support for agriculture, livestock and trade sectors and community infrastructure, the release added.