PESHAWAR, May 16: A two-day NWFP development forum will begin in Peshawar on Thursday to apprise foreign donor agencies about economic growth and prospects of development in the province. The World Bank and the NWFP government were jointly organising the forum which would be attended by representatives of local and international financial institutions, said provincial Finance Minister Sirajul Haq here on Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference he said that 100 delegates including representatives of European Union, foreign relief agencies and Islamabad-based foreign diplomats were expected to attend the event.

He said that the provincial government had requested the bank to organise a forum to inform the donors about the state of development, economic growth and win over confidence of the donors to provide financial and technical assistance to the province.

“The bank and other institutions have already contributed to various sectors in the province and we are expecting more assistance from the donors”, Mr Siraj said.

Highlighting the government priorities, he maintained that provincial government needed assistance in health, education, agriculture, industry and tourism sectors.

Replying to a question, he said that the law and order situation in the NWFP was comparatively better than the other provinces and prevailing environment was conducive for development activities. He said security situation in tribal areas was one of the major factors, which was hampering foreign investment in the province.