Minister urges US support in HR training

Says govt keen to benefit from top US universities

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reform Ahsan Iqbal on Thursday urged the US to support Pakistan in training Human Resources (HR) to implement its Vision 2025.

During a meeting with US Assistant Secretary Education Evan Ryan, he said the government was keen to benefit from top US universities in training its strategic human resources, which would consequently help transform Pakistan into a ‘knowledgeable economy’.

“The Pakistan-USA Knowledge Corridor can become a strong bridge between the two countries,” he stated, highlighting the government’s efforts in promoting primary and higher education in the country; particularly girls’ education.

“The US can partner positively to make these efforts a success,” he added.

He said the Pak-USA Knowledge Corridor has been recognised as an important initiative in the joint statement of Pakistan and US during Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s visit last year. “Now, the challenge lies in operationalising it at the earliest.”

Iqbal said Pakistan needed 10,000 PhD scholars in the next ten years to cater to the growing needs of expanding faculty in the higher education sector and the Pak-US Corridor would fulfill this demand.

“Our initiative Brand Pakistan is meant to recognise the changing Pakistan by engaging Pakistani diaspora,” he further said. He also proposed for the development of a group of academicians in US to make Pakistan the subject of their research.

Highlighting the characteristics of a joint Science Foundation to finance scholars from both sides, as proposed in the US-Pakistan Strategic Dialogue, the minister pointed out that the Education, Science and Technology Group was the most important one. 

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th,  2016.

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