- Punjab CM says European state can help promote vocational education
A high-level German delegation led by Parliamentary State Secretary for Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development Thomas Silberhorn called on Punjab Chief Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday.
Matters of mutual interest, bilateral issues and promotion of cooperation in different sectors were discussed during the meeting which also reached an agreement over cooperation in the energy and skills development sectors.
The chief minister, talking to the delegation, said there were longstanding friendly relations between Pakistan and Germany which, according to him, was an important trade partner of Pakistan.
Shehbaz stressed the need for taking further measures for promoting economic cooperation between the two countries, saying Germany had played an important role in the grant of GSP Plus status to Pakistan which resulted in increase of textile and garments export.
Referring to unprecedented sacrifices made by Pakistan in the war against terrorism, the chief minister said that besides the energy crisis, Pakistan was facing the challenges of terrorism and extremism. He said officers and jawans of Pakistan army and police, common citizens, besides people of all walks of life had rendered supreme sacrifices in the war against terrorism. He also informed the delegates that so far more than 50 thousand Pakistanis had lost their lives in this war.
The chief minister said the political and military leadership as well as the whole nation was untied to root out the menace of terrorism. He also said the Army was achieving glorious successes in the operation Zarb-e-Azb.
Shehbaz realized the fact that besides the use of force, social and economic measures were essential for elimination of terrorism and extremism, and said the youth was being empowered in Punjab for checking the trends of terrorism.
He said a solid strategy had been evolved for imparting various skills to millions of youth annually while under the skills development programme, thousands of youth had been made skillful in accordance with the market needs. This programme was running successfully and its scope was being extended to the whole province, he added.
The chief minister, on the occasion, said that Germany should consider provision of technical assistance for providing skills to the youth of Punjab in accordance with the needs of local and foreign markets. He said Germany could extend cooperation in the promotion of vocational education for the youth.
Referring to energy projects, the chief minister said the Punjab government had completed the Quaid-e-Azam Solar Park with its own resources in Bahawalpur in a record period and the project had started supply of electricity. He said the services of German consultants had been acquired for this project.
Shehbaz said that planning had been made to set up powerhouses for production of 3,600 megawatt electricity from gas in Punjab. The Punjab government was setting up a gas-based energy project of 1,200 megawatt while a project of 2,400 megawatt would also be established by the federal government, concluded the chief minister.