Norwegian Minister of International Development Hilde F. Johnson will be visiting Pakistan on 12-14 November. The purpose of the visit is to discuss future development cooperation with Pakistan now that this cooperation has been resumed. Given the difficult situation in Pakistan today, there will also be talks on intensifying efforts, for example in the field of education (including women’s rights) and future transitional assistance to Afghanistan.

The Minister will meet President Pervez Musharraf, Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, Education Minister Zubaida Jalal and the Governor of the North West Frontier Province. She will also meet a Pakistani organization for women’s rights (Aurat), other bilateral donors, multilateral organizations such as the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the UN, and Scandinavian NGOs. In addition she will visit Peshawar. There she will visit among other things the refugee camp Jallozai and the human rights centre at the University of Peshawar.

The press contact for the visit is Head of Information Jon Mørland, tel.: 907 70 206.