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PM Abbasi meets Bill Gates, discusses avenues of partnership in health, education
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi met Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Co-Chairman, Bill Gates, at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on Wednesday and discussed with him avenues of partnership in health, education and other social sectors in Pakistan.
National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Minister Saira Afzal Tarar, Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb, Special Assistant to PM Ali Jehangir Siddiqui, and senior government officials were also present, according to a press release received here from Switzerland.
The prime minister thanked and appreciated the support provided by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to Pakistan, particularly for the Polio Eradication Programme.
Prime Minister thanked and appreciated the support provided by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to #Pakistan, particularly for the #Polio Eradication Program & discussed avenues of partnership in health, education and other social sectors.#PakistanAtDavos pic.twitter.com/khyw4nvnCA
— Govt of Pakistan (@pid_gov) January 24, 2018
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and empowerment of farmers through financial and digital inclusion was also discussed during the meeting.
“We are focused on social sector reforms and the recent major initiatives of our government in health and education (sectors) would certainly benefit people in general and the poor and vulnerable in particular,” the prime minister highlighted.
While recalling the meeting held at the sidelines of UNGA last year, PM Abbasi apprised the progress made by Directorate of National Savings that had partnered with Karandaaz Pakistan to digitise over seven million accounts and certificate holders, among which more than half of them were women.
Karandaaz Pakistan is a Pakistani company working for promoting access to finance for small businesses through commercially directed investments and financial inclusion for individuals.
Bill Gates appreciated the tremendous progress achieved in the eradication of polio during the last four years and hoped that all the stakeholders would make the final push to achieve the cherished goal of complete eradication of polio from the remaining parts of the country.
Bill Gates thanked the prime minister for a continued commitment of the government of Pakistan in achieving the objective of eradicating polio from the country. He also appreciated the personal commitment of PM Abbasi towards that end.
