Indian-Pakistan politicians meet in Dubai to discuss poverty alleviation

Dubai - A prime area of concern for the delegates was the urgent need to reduce poverty in both the countries by allocating more resources

Several legislators and public officials from India and Pakistan came together on Tuesday in Dubai to discuss poverty alleviation programmes in their respective countries.
Twenty-three delegates comprising Members of Parliament from India, Legislative Assembly Members, economics and other experts from both the countries were in Dubai for a dialogue - the 9^th round of Pakistan-India Legislators and Public Officials Dialogue on Sharing of experiences on Governance and Democracy, organised by the Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute of Legislative Development and Transparent (PILDAT).
A prime area of concern for the delegates was the urgent need to reduce poverty in both the countries by allocating more resources. While poverty has come down worldwide as well as in India and Pakistan, there are still poor people in both the countries and the issue needs a focused approach. Both the countries are large scale producers of agriculture and dairy products, but poverty and inequality still persist, the delegates said in a statement.
Delegates from the two nations focused this round of dialogues on the theme of sharing lessons on developments in poverty alleviation in both the countries. A major point of mutual consensus in the dialogue has been to desist from growing arms expenditure in India as well as Pakistan, which adversely affects the welfare of people in both the developing countries.
The participants also agreed that the gap between rich and poor has been widening in both the countries and comprehensive poverty alleviation strategies must focus on reducing inequality within society in both the countries. In both the countries, participants pointed out that the poor sections of society are excluded from planning priority schemes.
"A couple of these dialogues have taken place in both India and Pakistan in the past. However, the current status of bilateral relationship needs improvement and hence we decided to conduct the ninth edition of this continuing dialogue in Dubai," said Shahira Khan, Projects Manager PILDAT.
Kirti Azad, BJP MP from Bihar, Adarsh Shastri and Ajay Dutt, Aam Admi Party MLAs from Delhi, Mahendra Jeet Singh Malaviya, Rajasthan MLA from Indian National Congress are prominent Indian politicians who took part in the Dubai dialogue. Dr Arif Alvi, MNA from Sindh (Pakistan Tahreek e Insaf), Muhammed Tallal Chaudry, Punjab MNA Pakistan Muslim League Nawas (PML-N) and Syed Naveed Qamar, Hyderabad MNA representing Pakistan Peoples Party represented the Pakistan side.

• UAE
• Dubai