PESHAWAR  -  A delegation from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), led by its Resident Representative, Samuel Rizk, met with the Caretaker Chief Min­ister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK), Azam Khan, on Tuesday.

The discussion revolved around var­ious public welfare programs under the UNDP portfolio. Possibilities of fur­ther extending collaboration between the provincial government and UNDP in different social sectors were also ex­plored during the meeting.

Chief Minister Khan stressed the need for enhanced cooperation from UNDP and other partner organizations in the merged tribal districts. He em­phasized that the people in these dis­tricts have suffered greatly due to dec­ades-long militancy, resulting in severe developmental disparities compared to other regions of the country. He called for special attention from both the gov­ernment and donor agencies, especial­ly in basic infrastructure development, to bring these areas up to par with the rest of the province.

Chief Minister Khan commended UNDP for its continued financial and technical support to the provincial gov­ernment across various social sectors. He expressed hope for ongoing col­laboration and cooperation between UNDP and the provincial government.

Khan noted that the merger of Ex-FA­TA into Khyber Pakhtunkhwa was a positive step and urged UNDP to ex­pand its collaboration in these areas to accelerate development. He also em­phasized the need to strengthen police infrastructure in these regions to im­prove the law and order situation.

Azam Khan suggested that UNDP car­ry out programs in the Rural Develop­ment sector of the province with the active participation of local communi­ties to ensure program sustainability. He expressed serious concern about the rising trend of drug use among the province’s youth and stressed the need for UNDP collaboration on both pre­vention and treatment. The Chief Min­ister assured that the caretaker pro­vincial government would provide full support to UNDP in executing its pub­lic welfare initiatives.

During the meeting, Samuel Rizk, the Resident Representative of UNDP, commended the provincial govern­ment for its support in executing UNDP programs. He highlighted var­ious ongoing programs in the so­cial sector, including the Merged Ar­eas Governance Program, Rule & Law project, Economic Revival Program, Eco-Tourism, Flood Recovery Pro­gram, and HIV Control Program. Rizk emphasized the close coordination between UNDP and relevant provin­cial government departments for pro­gram implementation and expressed UNDP’s intent to expand collabora­tion in the future.