UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced on Tuesday a new partnership with Pakistan that would focus on curbing corruption and eliminating barriers to investment in the Asian country, with London set to allocate 750,000 pounds (almost $1 million) to Islamabad.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 18th September, 2018) UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid announced on Tuesday a new partnership with Pakistan that would focus on curbing corruption and eliminating barriers to investment in the Asian country, with London set to allocate 750,000 Pounds (almost $1 million) to Islamabad.
The home secretary has recently visited Pakistan and met with a number of the country's high-ranking officials and religious leaders.
"Today I am delighted to announce a new Justice and Accountability Partnership. Corruption reduces tax and is a barrier to investment. The UK has done more than any country to tackle corruption and we are absolutely committed to supporting Pakistan to tackle this problem. Our announcement today demonstrates this commitment," Javid said, as quoted in the statement.
During the visit Javid also met with Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Minister for education Shafqat Mahmood, Minister of State for the Interior Shehryar Afridi, Minister of Law and Justice Mohammad Farogh Naseem and Special Assistant for Accountability Mirza Shahzad Akbar.
Pakistan, which suffers from high levels of poverty and underdevelopment, is designated as a "corrupt" country by the Transparency International watchdog. As of 2017, Islamabad is ranked 117th out of 180 countries in the Corruption Perception index.
