ISLAMABAD: The U.S. Ambassador Donald Blome has visited Torkham border to have first-hand experience of border trade and other activities.
The US Ambassador and others also viewed 46-kilometer Peshawar-Torkham Road, 87 million dollars U.S. government construction project which reduced the cost of travel and vehicle maintenance by half, while facilitating commuters and traders each day.
Donald Blome also met the KPK chief minister Mahmood Khan to highlight the U.S. government’s extensive economic and development assistance, which has benefited the residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over the past 75 years of bilateral relations. Ambassador Blome emphasized that the United States wishes to continue cooperation on economic development, commerce, educational partnerships, and investment that have helped the region and its people.
Ambassador Blome also visited the U.S. government-funded Burns and Plastic Surgery Center in Peshawar. The cutting-edge health facility was constructed and equipped through $15 million in USAID funding. The Center is the largest of its kind in Pakistan and has treated more than 5,000 patients since it opened in 2019.
While touring the state-of-the-art U.S.-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy at the University of Engineering and Technology in Peshawar, Ambassador Blome stated: “It is an honor to be here today to see the Center and learn more about the great work that you are doing here.
As the United States and Pakistan commemorate our 75-year relationship this year, this facility symbolizes our shared vision and our enormous accomplishments.” The U.S. government collaborated with engineering universities across Pakistan under USAID’s $127 million partnership to establish centers like this for advanced learning in the areas of water, energy, and food security.
During Ambassador Blome’s visit, the U.S. Embassy’s International Narcotics and Law Director Lori Antolinez participated in an inauguration ceremony for the KP Prosecution Academy, which was funded by the U.S. government. In her remarks, Director Antolinez highlighted that the $2 million academy will train 200 prosecutors annually.
Since 1989 the U.S. government, through the State Department’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement, has provided $300 million to KP to promote economic and agricultural development, strengthen the justice system, and help promote security and stability. This included building 1,240 km of roads in KP to help farmers and businesses get goods to market, completing 1,300 projects to provide drinking water and irrigation, and building 420 different law enforcement facilities, including local police stations.
