Bilateral relations: ‘Youth being given soft loans to secure livelihoods’
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif said on Thursday that the government had been implementing a comprehensive skill development programme with the cooperation of the British Department for International Development (DFID).
He was speaking to European Union (EU) Ambassador Lars Gunnar Wigemark, German Ambassador Cyrill Nunn and Dutch Ambassador Marcel De Vink. Sharif said thousands of people had been trained in south Punjab under the programme. He said it had been extended to eighteen districts across the Punjab.
Matters of bilateral interest including the promotion of trade and economic cooperation were discussed in the meeting. The chief minister thanked the ambassadors for grant of the Generalised System of Preference-Plus (GSP-Plus) status. He said this had provided Pakistan with greater access to the European market and would create job opportunities. Sharif expressed his desire to strengthen economic and trade relations with the EU. He said there were a plenty of investment opportunities in the livestock, agriculture, skill development, textile and energy sectors in the Punjab.
The chief minister said the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) government had taken various initiatives for the welfare of the minorities, women and the youth. He said the youth were being provided with credit on soft terms under the self-employment scheme to provide them with livelihoods. The chief minister said the Danish School System had been set up to provide underprivileged children with quality education. Sharif said they were being provided with quality education through IT labs and smart boards. The chief minister said over 1.5 million children were being educated by the Punjab Education Foundation. He said 60,000 gifted students were continuing their education under the auspices of the Punjab Educational Endowment Fund.
He said the government had been trying to overcome the energy crisis. Sharif said the government was importing liquefied natural gas to overcome the gas shortage. The chief minister coal-fired power plants were also being built with Chinese assistance.
Ambassador Wigemark said comprehensive efforts were being made to strengthen bilateral cooperation especially in the technical education and vocational training sectors. He said this would create a skilled workforce and provide demand-driven manpower for industry. The Ambassador said the European market was brimming with opportunities for Pakistani textiles.
Ambassador Nunn said Germany would continue to cooperate with the Punjab in the skill development sector.
A luncheon was also hosted in honour of the ambassadors. Excise and Taxation Minister Mujtaba Shujaur Rahman, Labour Minister Raja Ashfaq Sarwar and Minorities Minister Tahir Khalil Sindhu were also present on the occasion.
Separately, Sharif said comprehensive reforms were being introduced in the Punjab to facilitate economic growth.
He was speaking to a delegation of World Bank officials. World Bank Lead Economist Vincent Palmade was leading the delegation. The chief minister said the government had been striving to realise its goal of achieving eight per cent growth in the next four years. He said the government had been using state-of-the-art technology to achieve its targets. Sharif said progress had been made on setting up e-governance in the Punjab.
He said tax collection was being revamped. Sharif said the government had resolved to create 1 million jobs. Palmade praised the government’s initiatives. He said the World Bank would continue to cooperate with Pakistan.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 28th, 2014.
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Great job SS. Punjab is with you.