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PESHAWAR, Jan 11 (APP):President Sarhad Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Fuad Ishaq has urged USAID-ERDA to double the grant that was being given to the youth of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and newly merged districts (NMDs) to empower them economically.
He was speaking at the concluding ceremony of the first batch of ‘The USAID-ERDA Youth Training in Business Planning and Management Program’. The program was organized in collaboration with Tie Islamabad at UET CEEC Peshawar here on Thursday.
Keynote speakers at the concluding ceremony were Engr. Dr. Abdul Shakoor, Sumera Abbasi, Executive Director, TiE Islamabad, Dr. Shakeel Kakakhel and Deputy Chief of Party for USAID’s Economic Recovery and Development Activity (ERDA),
Fuad Ishaq said that the situation in newly merged districts is very challenging and youth living in these areas are faced with difficult circumstances.
He praised that USAID – ERDA has done exceptional work in empowering the youth of both NMDs and KP by providing a source of income.
The SCCI chief said the youth of NMDs are hardworking and fully capable of availing of new opportunities.
Talking about the promotion of regional trade, Fuad Ishaq said ample opportunities were available to improve trade with Afghanistan.
He added that Afghanistan is now safe for trade and serves as a gateway to Central Asian Republics.
He also demanded that soft loans should be provided with a mark-up rate (4 – 5%), payable up to 12 years. He also suggested that Development Financial Institutions along with the Industrial Development Bank of Pakistan should be strengthened in KP.