Sindh, Türkiye to expand cooperation in education, health

KARACHI:

Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has reaffirmed the provincial government's commitment to strengthening cooperation with Türkiye in education, healthcare, culture, disaster management and community development.

He expressed these views during a meeting with a high-level delegation of the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TiKA), led by its Vice President Dr Ali Erjan, at the Chief Minister's House.

The meeting reviewed Türkiye's ongoing development projects in Sindh and explored new areas of cooperation aimed at improving public services, educational outcomes and socio-economic development across the province. The chief minister said the people of Pakistan valued their longstanding friendship with Türkiye, which was rooted in shared history, mutual respect and strong people-to-people ties.

The CM said Sindh was pursuing an extensive agenda of education reforms, digital transformation and human resource development, adding that international partnerships were essential to achieving these objectives.

The Türkiye delegation briefed the chief minister on its ongoing projects in Sindh, particularly initiatives focused on access to clean drinking water, employment generation, disaster preparedness, education and institutional capacity-building.

Among the key projects are solar-powered water filtration plants in Umerkot and Pano Aqil. The facilities are providing thousands of people with clean and safe drinking water every day and helping improve public health and living standards in underserved communities.

The delegation also discussed TiKA's rickshaw livelihood programme in Karachi, under which deserving families have been provided rickshaws through a revolving financing model aimed at creating sustainable employment and expanding income opportunities for low-income households. The meeting also reviewed an emergency and disaster response training programme under which Sindh rescue personnel have received specialised training in search and rescue operations, disaster management and instructor training.