KARACHI, Nov 21: Shorn of optimism, Germany is waiting for Pakistan to provide good projects that can be funded by the fresh debt swap offer of 100 million German marks and money available in the 120 million mark pipeline, still to be fully utilized.

The debt swap offer of 50 million marks is for current German financial year ending November 2001 and an equivalent amount is for the next fiscal. And the fear is that the project profiles will not be ready by then.

“There is nothing on the table” as on November 21, says new German ambassador Dr Christoph Brummer, who visited the Finance Ministry two days ago. He did not get any response. He says “we are looking for performance from Pakistan.”

Replying to an address of welcome by President of Pakistan-German Business Forum Razzak Bengali on Wednesday, the German diplomat remarked that “there is no lack of money” and added” there is lack of projects and lack of implementation.” In his discussions with the federal ministers, the German diplomat was not clear how things would go. He said on the part of the German government “there is readiness to do something” but he was “not clear how to progress.”

Germany has identified three focal points or areas for development co-operation — energy, health and education. Pakistan wants two additional areas — institutional building for democracy and market economy. Dr Brummer said there was lot of possibility to invest in these fields.

He said the September 11 episode had ignited a new flash light on Pakistan that had revived the interest of German business and industry as well as the German government in the country’s trade, business and development potentials. Pakistan should seize the opportunity to develop on the basis of goodwill it has earned from the international community.

To promote German investment, the German ambassador said that “what we need is a signal from the side of the government. There is a question of investment climate. Problems relating to double taxation and other points need to be sorted out so that fresh German readiness to support would yield positive results. Pakistan needs to improve its image, the perception about investment environment and products to attract investment and promote trade.

Replying to a suggestion that debt write-off should be linked to good governance, he said “we are not pouring in money and good governance is implied in our programme.”

Dr Brummer told a questioner that Pakistan spent only 2.6 per cent of the budget for education and 25 per cent on defence. Education is question of priority. He recalled that President Musharraf had told him in his brief remarks when he presented his credentials that Pakistan was faced with three major problems: Increasing poverty, lack of education and mountains of debt. Yet education receives a low priority in the national budget.