Dubai: The management of the UAE Project to Assist Pakistan (UAEPAP) has announced the completion of the Cadet College Wana, which is the largest educational project in the South Waziristan region at a cost of $5.4 million (Dh19.8 million).
The gesture is in implementation of the directives of President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan to provide humanitarian and developmental aid to Pakistan as well as support and enhance its educational sector.
The announcement was made during an official opening ceremony of the college in the presence of Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif; UAE Ambassador to Pakistan Eisa Abdullah Al Basha Al Nuaimi; Abdullah Khalifa Al Gafli, Director of UAEPAP, a number of staff members of the UAE Embassy in Pakistan, Pakistani Army commanders, top government officials and dignitaries.
A presentation was made at the inauguration ceremony about the phased completion of the project, as well as a brief on the humanitarian and developmental projects run by the UAE as per the directives of Shaikh Khalifa.
General Sharif, along with Al Nuaimi and Al Gafli unveiled the memorial plaque. The audience extended thanks to Shaikh Khalifa for the gesture which represents an important addition to promote the educational sector in Pakistan.
The participants toured the college and were briefed on its facilities which include halls, classrooms, technical and scientific laboratories.
During the inauguration ceremony, General Sharif delivered a speech extending thanks and appreciation to Shaikh Khalifa for his continuous support to Pakistan as well as his generous humanitarian initiatives for its people.
He also emphasised the support given by the UAE’s wise leadership and people for the Pakistani people during humanitarian crises and natural disasters. He added that the UAE has provided all kinds of support to Pakistan, enabling it to overcome crises, through establishing a number of humanitarian and developmental projects, especially in infrastructure development, housing, health and other sectors.
General Sharif emphasised that the UAE has provided huge assistance in the tribal areas in Fata and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, adding that the college is one of the important projects which would contribute to developing the education sector in South Waziristan.
Al Nuaimi praised the UAE’s supportive approach towards fraternal and friendly countries under the wise leadership of Shaikh Khalifa through the establishment of a number of humanitarian, educational, health, and infrastructure projects implemented by UAEPAP in Pakistan. He also underscored the importance of these projects in lifting people’s living standards in the area as well as provision of services to the beneficiaries in health, education and social fields.
In his remarks on the occasion, Al Gafli hailed the generous directives and continuous initiatives of Shaikh Khalifa to support Pakistani people as well as giving attention to the provision of an appropriate educational environment for them.
He added that the opening of Wana Cadet College is a translation of the directives of Shaikh Khalifa, which are aimed to contribute to the overall development of the individual and the society in Pakistan. He reiterated that the project reflects the UAE wise leadership’s permanent care towards the welfare of poor and developing countries.
Al Gafli also lauded the continuous support and follow-up of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, and Shaikh Mansour Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs for the project. He added that their follow-up has drawn a far-sighted vision to the planning, humanitarian and developmental approach which had contributed to the success of the implementation of 163 humanitarian and developmental projects in Pakistan.
