Pakistan and Britain have signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) to cover a British grant assistance of $400 million (235 million Pounds) over the period of three years, according to an official statement. The agreement is aimed at developing a long-term development partnership between the two countries, especially focusing on alleviating poverty and promoting development. Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz signed the LOI in Islamabad that was inked by his British counterpart Tony Blair in London. The development partnership between the Pakistan government and UK's Department for International Development (DFID) will target poverty alleviation, creating income-generating opportunity for poor and improving services delivery. "The long term commitment signifies the confidence the British government has in our policies to reduce poverty," Aziz said after the signing ceremony attended by British ambassador Mark Lyall Grant, Minister of State for Finance Omer Ayub Khan and Minister of State for Economic Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar. The long-term partnership also indicated the British government's commitment to help Pakistan achieve better health care, better education, empowerment of women and in fighting hunger and disease, he added. Aziz said the country's economy was on the rise and the government was working to pass on the benefits of high growth down to the grass roots level. "This is already happening," he said and referred to the 6.5 per cent reduction in poverty level. He said as the majority of the country's population lived in the rural areas, the one good way to fighting poverty was through increasing level of agriculture income. The government, he added, was working on a host of programmes to help farmers increase their income through major and minor crops, fisheries etc that in turn will help the country move forward on the road to progress and prosperity. The prime minister termed the DFID as an excellent partner of Pakistan in its efforts to alleviate poverty and improve development. He also thanked the British government for the earthquake relief assistance and their commitment to help Pakistan in the rehabilitation of people ravaged by the October 8 tremors.
