Pak-South Korea bilateral ties to be further cemented: Atif Khan

PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Minister for Tourism Atif Khan Friday said that Pakistan and South Korea bilateral ties will further be cemented through the promotion of tourism and culture and people-to-people contacts.

Talking to Ambassador of the Republic of South Korea to Pakistan, Kwak Sung-Kyu, who along with a delegation called on senior minister here on Friday, Atif Khan said the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province is a holy place for Koreans as Buddhism reached Korea from this part of the world through a monk named Maralanda [Maranatha] in 4th century CE.

Korean Buddhism can be directly traced back to the Gandhara civilisation, he said.

The senior minister said that many Buddhist holy sites, monasteries and archaeological ruins were located in Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The senior minister and Korean envoy discussed various matter pertaining to mutual interests. The ambassador congratulated the senior minister on forming the government in Centre and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Meanwhile, in a meeting with Dr Maryam Chughtai of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), the senior minister, who also has the portfolio of Sports, Tourism, Archaeology, Culture, Museums and Youth Affairs, said that the KP government was trying hard to stand the youth on their feet by providing employment and launching businesses for them under the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Impact Challenge programme.

The senior minister said the KP Impact Challenge programme was first of its kind government-led initiative for economic and social impact competition to promote youth entrepreneurship, innovation, and to provide economic opportunities to talented youth.

He said that the second instalment will soon be released to the youth so they could continue their businesses.

Secretary Sports, Tourism, Archaeology, Culture, Museums and Youth Affairs Shahid Zaman and Additional Secretary Babar Khan were also present at the meeting.

The provincial government and the LUMS have jointly launched a Rs500 million Impact Challenge programme to promote youth entrepreneurship, employment and to harness the skills of largely rural youth by involving them in the economic mainstream.

Under the initiative, 350 candidates between the ages of 18 and 30 were selected to turn them into entrepreneurs.

The provincial government provided up to Rs2 million in installments, keeping in view the nature of their projects.

The initiative has been a success and has proved to be a huge step forward towards creating economic avenues and entrepreneurship opportunities for the youth of KP and is landmark collaboration between LUMS and the KP government.