FATA DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM WILL PLAY A KEY ROLE IN UPLIFTING LIVING CONDITIONS OF THIS BACKWARD AREA – ICCI PRESIDENT

Federally Administered Tribal Area (FATA) badly needs developmental activities to promote economic activities, create job opportunities and improve the living conditions in this underdeveloped area and FATA Development Program will play a key role in uplifting living standard of people by initiating developmental activities and stimulating as well as promoting business and investment activities in the region, stated Muhammad Ijaz Abbasi, President, Islamabad Chamber of Commerce and Industry while talking to Mr. Gordon Studebaker, Private Sector Specialist of Chemonics International and Ms Saadiya Aswad, Program Officer of JE Austin at ICCI who are managing “FATA Development Program” with USAID to improve the competitiveness of key FATA economic sectors. The program components include Youth & Livelihoods, Revitalizing Community Infrastructure & Essential Services and Enterprise & Value Chain Development.

ICCI President said FATA is blessed with many natural resources like precious stones, marble, gems, mines, minerals & forests etc. but due to lack of funds, the region could not exploit these resources fully to create more economic activities in the area. He said FATA needs development in sectors like education, health, water supply & sanitation, agriculture, livestock, forestry, fisheries, irrigation, water management and power, roads and bridges, industry, mines and mineral, trade and commerce, tourism and skill development etc. to bring it at par with other developed areas of the country. He hoped that Chemonics International & JE Austin initiatives will lead to further improve services, upgrade infrastructure, promote the sustainable use of natural resources, and bolster activity in the trade, commerce and industrial sectors to develop institutional and financial capacities, and to expand and diversify available economic opportunities.

In the end, Muhammad Ijaz Abbasi assured Mr. Gordon Studebaker and Ms Saadiya Aswad that Islamabad Chamber of Commerce will extend its full cooperation and help to them in determining needs of FATA businesses and identifying as well as attaching wealth-creation gaps so that greater revenue accrues to FATA based enterprises, producers and farmers.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Gordon Studebaker & Ms Saadiya Aswad said Chemonics International and JE Austin are focusing on South FATA comprising Khyber, Orakzai, Kurram, Kohat, Karak, Bannu, North Wasiristan, South Waziristan & D.I.Khan to initiate business uplifting activities for boosting competitiveness of FATA enterprises, developing generic financial services to strengthen micro-enterprise and small and medium enterprises and to provide training as well as equipment and supplies to allow those trained to directly apply training to enterprise development. They said their training efforts will target mechanics, carpentry, mosaic creations while their project level and cluster grants will target organizations, community groups and associations. They said they plan to fund prospectively profitable commercial activities of common interest and benefit by establishing model dairy farm, model marble quarry and gems cutting centre etc.

In the end, Mr. Gordon and Ms Saadiya thanked ICCI President for showing interest to extend all required cooperation and help to them and expressed the hope that ICCI coordination will greatly facilitate them in achieving their desired objectives.