ISLAMABAD -  Pakistan has signed two agreements with the European Union to achieve sustainable development goals in socio-economic sectors.

Under the agreements, the European Union will give eighty three million euros to Pakistan out of which over forty million will be used for technical education and training while thirty four million euros will be spent for rehabilitation of homeless people.

Secretary Economic Affairs Division Tariq Bajwa and EU ambassador Jean-François Cautain in Islamabad signed the agreements.

According to the details, the government of Pakistan has signed a financing agreement with the European Union for the implementation of a 49 million EUR project titled “Support to the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Sector in Pakistan (TVET III)”. The action aims to support the government of Pakistan in the implementation of its newly devised TVET Policy. It also aims to provide quality TVET services to support inclusive economic growth. The project is expected to improve governance and private sector participation in the TVET sector and to enhance access to quality skills development that meets the demands of the labour market. The five year project will be implemented by GIZ across Pakistan. Implementation is expected to start from January 2017. A total of 48,500 persons (30% females) will be trained/ assessed in the TVET through this project. A further 3,500 teachers/ trainers will also be trained.

Meanwhile, the government of Pakistan has signed a financing agreement with the European Union for the implementation of a 22 million EUR project titled “Aid to Uprooted People in Pakistan”. Additional 12 million EUR will be provided by the government of Germany. The overall objective of the project is to facilitate the reintegration of FATA IDPs by creating a favourable environment for their return, improve the service delivery of the FATA Administration and assist the reform process in FATA.

The project will also support and sustain community-driven local development initiatives to create a favourable socio-economic environment for returning Internally Displaced Persons. More than 300,000 families will benefit from the project interventions. The project is expected to start from January 2017. Project activities will be started in Khyber, Orakzai, North Waziristan and South Waziristan and later on extended to other agencies. Sarhad Rural Support Programme will implement the project activities through community organizations at the field level. The project interventions will be completed within a 5 year period, ending 2021.