ISLAMABAD  -  The European Union (EU) will provide an additional EUR 100 million to rein­force Pakistan’s resilience in the after­math of the devastating 2022 floods that severely impacted the nation.

European Union (EU) Ambassador to Pakistan, Ms Riina Kionka, and Dr Ka­zim Niaz, Secretary of the Ministry of Economic Affairs, signed five new EU grant agreements. These agreements, under Team Europe’s response to the 2022 post-flood Resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation, and Reconstruction Framework, signify a substantial com­mitment of nearly EUR 100 million (equivalent to over PKR 30 billion). The new EU support package aims to fortify Pakistan’s resilience in the aftermath of the floods, bringing the total Team Europe response to the 2022 floods to over EUR 930 million. The specific fo­cus areas include revitalising the rural economy in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and restoring the disrupted livestock value chains in flood-affected Balochistan. Notably, these activities align with the expansive EU Global Gateway initiative, the largest EU investment program designed to propel the global green transition. Moreover, the package ex­tends its impact by fortifying Pakistan’s long-term resilience through targeted investments in human rights, gender equality, and civil society.

Secretary Dr Kazim Niaz thanked the EU for their support and further em­phasised that there are unmet needs in the flood affected areas that require assistance of development partners. EU Ambassador, Dr Riina Kionka, stat­ed; “Pakistan is not alone in overcom­ing its challenging phase of economic crisis and flood recovery. The EU and Team Europe partners are committed to building back better, sustainably im­proving lives in the most affected com­munities in KP and Balochistan.”

The EU’s commitment to Pakistan encompasses a vision of a stable, dem­ocratic, and pluralistic country that respects human rights and maximizes its economic potential. The EU annu­ally provides approximately EUR 90 million in grants for development and cooperation, supporting Pakistan’s initiatives to combat poverty, enhance education, promote good governance, human rights, rule of law, and ensure sustainable natural resource manage­ment. The EU’s cooperation spans across all of Pakistan, with a special focus on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit Baltistan, Balochistan, and Sindh.