QUETTA, Dec 8: United States Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker said on Wednesday that creation of employment opportunities and helping small-scale farmers were important objectives of his country in Balochistan and rural Sindh.

At a function of the Khushhali Bank, Mr Crocker announced expansion of USAID-supported micro-finance programmes to six new districts. He said the programme was aimed at enhancing skills of micro-entrepreneurs and extending more than 270,000 loans during three years to boost economic prosperity in the region.

He said the Khushhali Bank ran the country's largest network of micro-finance services in deserving areas of Balochistan and Sindh. He said the bank had disbursed about 85,000 loans in Balochistan and Sindh through 14 branches and 80 credit officers in the field.

He said the USAID-Khushhali Bank programme was active in 14 districts in the province - Quetta, Loralai, Barkhan, Zhob, Ziarat, Sibi, Pishin, Jacobabad, Larkana, Jaffarabad, Nasirabad, Dadu, Naushahro Feroze and Gwadar.

The programme would be extended to Khairpur, Hyderabad, Ghotki, Sukkur, Nawabshah and Sanghar districts next year, he said. Khushhali Bank President Ghalib Nishtar said the bank's greatest challenge was to establish an infrastructure that could meet the large demand for micro-credit across the country.

He said the bank had set up the country's largest retail micro-finance network, spanning 64 districts, in three years. He said its share holding exceeded Rs1.7 billion from the private, multinational and public sector commercial banks.

It had a $150 million line of credit with the Asian Development Bank, he said. He said positive response from clients had inspired the bank to enhance its presence in Sindh and Balochistan despite harsh conditions.