Washington, DC — October 7, 2009 — Today, His Excellency Foreign Minister Makhdoom Shah Mahmood Qureshi of Pakistan came to IRD to participate in a meeting with U.S.-based NGOs and donors to discuss development priorities in the country. The Foreign Minister also met privately with IRD President and CEO Arthur Keys to discuss IRD's relief efforts for IDPs in Pakistan.

"The decision to meet with this group of NGOs demonstrates my view that NGOs have much to offer Pakistan," said Minister Qureshi. "Pakistan and the U.S. have been foul weather friends. We need to be all-weather friends."

The meeting was arranged by Sajjad Imran, IRD's Country Director in Pakistan, with the assistance of Hassan Baroudy of the Democracy and Governance sector and the Communications team.

For the last ten days the Foreign Minister has been on a diplomacy tour of the U.S. meeting think tanks, politicians and newspaper editorial boards, promoting his country's commitment to combat terrorism and promising transparency in the use of $1.5 billion in annual aid approved last week by Congress. The $ 7.5 billion (five year) Kerry-Lugar-Berman Bill is aimed at creating opportunities, development of institutions and betterment of people, especially those of war-affected areas in the country.

Also as part of the trip, yesterday, the Foreign Minister met with U.S. Special Representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan Richard Holbrooke and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

IRD has conducted basic relief efforts in Pakistan, including a USAID-funded water and sanitation program for IDPs and shipments worth more than $5 million of pharmaceuticals and non-food relief items to IDPs. IRD is also doing assessments on promoting Pakistani agriculture, an interest shared with Minister Qureshi, who founded and is still chairman of the Farmers Association of Pakistan. The Farmers Association has been very proactive in horticulture and dairy development and grows cotton, sunflower, mangoes and wheat.

Through a four-month emergency program in Pakistan funded by USAID's Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, IRD is providing water, sanitation, and hygiene facilities for IDPs and host families by ensuring the restocking of primary health centers, selected by union councils, with medicines and medical supplies. The program is rehabilitating and expanding sanitation facilities, including latrines and waste disposal; and rehabilitating, expanding, or constructing shower facilities and hand washing points for 3,000 families. In addition, IRD is forming local hygiene committees to support ongoing hygiene awareness training as well as establish user committees for water supply and sanitation facility maintenance.